The Reaper Fairy
by 6-4 pilot
Summary: After his sacrifice, Ragna suddenly ended up in Fiore. With no knowledge on why he's here or why he's not the BlackBeast, Ragna joins the worst guild in Fiore...wait what?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

On a hill that really held no importance, laid a young man with a red trench coat and white hair. The man was asleep or unconscious as the wind blow slightly to his direction. After a few minutes, the man's eyes slowly opened, revealing on eye was red while the other was green. Groaning to himself, he got up while holding his head. As he recovered from a headache, he looked around his surroundings. To his shock, he wasn't in the boundary, a plane of existence that is separate from the real world. He checked himself, which further shocked him as no sign of the Black beast was visible on his body. No red veins or any dark shadows were surrounding him. Not believing it, the man ran down to a nearby pool of water and saw that it was indeed true. He was no longer the Black Beast. He was back to being Ragna the Bloodedge, SS-class criminal to the NOL and the one that saved his world from a calamity. Sighing to himself, Ragna laid back on the grass, wondering what happened.

" **What's going on?"** Though Ragna as he looked at the sky. **"How am I back?"** Looking at his Azure Grimoire, Ragna though back to what happened when he sacrificed himself. In an effort to save his world, one that caused him nothing but misery and pain, he sacrificed himself to prevent the world from ever resetting again as it was caught in a temporal loop that would constantly repeat itself over and over. Now, because of his sacrifice, his world is free from that and can now decide its own fate. However, it came with the cost of everyone forgetting him, something that he did purposely and had no regrets on doing. If it meant saving his world from that insufferable loop again, then he was all for it. Another cost was that he was stuck in the boundary, an alternate plane of existence that no normal human can enter safely with the machine that caused the whole loop thing in the first place, which again, he had no qualms with. This is because he was beginning to change into the Black Beast. A monster that destroyed his world sometime ago, so really, it was a killing three bird with one stone. He'd saved everyone from a continuous restart of the world, the Black Beast, and make them forget one of the most dangerous criminals in existence, despite him being not that bad of a guy. And yet…he was back somehow with no semblance of turning into the Black Beast. **"Did the world restart regardless of my actions or is this something else?"** With that in mind, he got up and walked to the nearby town for answers. Along the way he spotted a familiar, massive sword embedded on the ground in front of him. Feeling some relief, he grabbed the sword and examined it.

" **Nice to see you again."** Thought Ragna as he placed his prized sword, Bloodedge, in it's scabbard and went on as if a giant, fifty poundish sword was on his person.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

After some time of snooping around and asking questions, Ragna concluded that this wasn't his world. When asked about Seithr, a resource in his world, he received looks of confusion and questions about what that is. Not only that, but he saw that they weren't using any sort of Ars Magus, instead using magic, much to his shock as only a few magic-users were left in his world. Also, there's the fact that no one was using Platinum dollars and instead using a currency called Jewels, which meant that the few Platinum dollars he somehow had on his person were useless. Sighing to himself, he walked on as people stared at him because of the large sword on his person as well as his general appearance. As he walked, he overheard several conversations, all related to some guild called Fairy Tail and how they went from the top to rock bottom. Raising an eyebrow, he sat on a bench in some park as he listened to a man and a young girl talking about this Fairy Tail.

" ***Sighs*** So much has changed. They used to be a lot stronger, but without their main heavy hitters, they're so weak it isn't funny." Said the man.

"Is that why you left?" Asked the girl in curiosity. The man just shook his head.

"No." Said the man. "It'd hurt me to leave, but I had to find a better guild to support my family. They understood, but it didn't lessen the pain. I felt like I was abandoning family." The girl nodded in understanding before asking some more questions about Fairy Tail, which the man answered with the best of his ability. As it went along, Ragna felt some pity to this Fairy Tail. They seemed to be decent folks. Plus, it seemed that they needed some help getting back to shape as, from the sounds of things, they were struggling financially and the few remaining wizards that remain in Fairy Tail weren't getting enough money to pay for bills and the like. Sighing to himself, Ragna walked to the two. Upon seeing them look to him, Ragna spoke.

"You know where this Fairy Tail is?" Asked Ragna, pretending not to care. A bit cautious, the man answered.

"Yeah, but why do you ask?" Asked the man, holding the hand of the young girl. Ragna just shrugged as an answer.

"Just want to help them get back on their feet." Said Ragna. "Plus, I got some skills they might want." Hearing this and seeing that Ragna was telling the truth, the man relaxed and spoke with some manner of surprise.

"You want to work with them? Really?" Asked the man in surprise. He was happy that someone was going to Fairy Tail for work, but it was also dumb and not a good investment right now.

"Yeah." Said Ragna. "Might as well get some money and do some good at the same time. So, you'll take me to them." After a few moments passed, the man got up.

"I can, but are you sure?" Asked the man. Seeing Ragna nod made the man smile. "Alright then. Follow me." Taking the girl with him, the man escorted the two to Fairy Tail. While the girl was excited to see Fairy Tail, despite it's current state, Ragna wondered what he would expect from the former best guild in the country.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

"This is actually a lot better than what I expected." Commented Ragna as he saw the building the Fairy Tail guild was using. It was an old, run-down building surrounded by farm creatures and fertile land. "Honestly, I expected worse."

"To be honest, so did I." Said the man before sighing. "But the old guild hall was so much better." Ragna just stayed silent as he looked back at town, where the old guild hall was there. Along the way, the man explained to Ragna of what exactly caused Fairy Tail's downfall. During an S-class trial, a sort of test, the vast majority of Fairy Tail's strongest wizards were declared dead when the island that the trial was being taken place was completely destroyed by a dragon called Acnologia. Because of this, combined with constant debt from some destruction said heavy hitter caused as well as the fact that no one was strong enough to take on some of the more difficult jobs, which were most of them due to the guild's former reputation as the strongest guild in Fiore, caused their inevitable downfall. Sighing to himself, Ragna then thanked the man before entering himself. Before he entered, the man said good luck to Ragna before taking off with the little girl. Upon entering the guild hall, Ragna was met with a peculiar site. A really fat man eating an enormous amount of food, two old men arguing with each other, a skinny man arguing with said fat man, a purple haired-woman serving food along with a lighter-haired purple woman. Another skinny man painting, a kid reading a book, another fat man looking at a board with paper, a man dancing, and a bunch of other people that he can't bother acknowledging for some reason. The more dark-haired woman, upon seeing the stranger, went up to him.

"Is there something that we can help you, sir?" Asked the woman with a kind smile. Ragna, impassively, just answered her.

"Yeah, I'm here for work." Said Ragna. After saying that, the whole room went silent and stared at the man as if he was insane.

"D-did he just say what I think he said." Said the fat man with a plate of food as he chomped down on a turkey leg. His companion just nodded. After recovering from his shock, an old man with blue hair and mustache walked up to Ragna with an impassive face.

"You're serious, kid?" Asked the man as he stared at the young man. Hearing the man call him a kid, Ragna snarled and snapped at him.

"Watch your mouth, old man." Snarled Ragna, his old temper kicking in. "I'm here to help you from the mess your in. So, cut me some slack." Though a bit shocked at the sudden temper tantrum, the old man still held his ground. Sighing to himself to get back in control, Ragna stared back the man. "Look, I just want to help you from the disaster your in. It's the least I can do for you folk after all the stuff you did. Besides, you seem to be a much better choice than the other guild in this town." Along the way, Ragan spotted some wizards from the other guild residing in this town. The man that brought him here told him that their called Twilight Ogre and that they came to Magnolia, the town, once Fairy Tail was weak enough. Since then, they've been forcing them to pay them interest for helping paying their fines and the like. Needless to say, Ragna didn't like that sort of thing and he swore he saw some bullying a few people. After analyzing the new guy for deception, the old man sighed before holding his head.

"Alright." Said the old man. "The names Macao and I'm the fourth master of Fairy Tail. Come with me and I'll get you into the guild as well as introduce to everyone else. The one's that stayed that is." Nodding his head, Ragna followed the old man as he escorted him to the upper floor.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

Ragna just sighed to himself as he tried to enjoy his chicken leg, which the fatty called Droy was looking at hungrily. Apparently, it didn't take much to enter Fairy Tail. All you had to do was say that you wanted to join and they'll immediately take you in. Sighing to himself again, he looked at the place the master placed his emblem, somewhere near his heart. After some tough thinking, Ragna decided to place the emblem on his chest, figuring it was a safe place as both his arms were not his natural arms and he didn't want questions about that. Not yet at least. Plus, he didn't want anything on his face or lower body, so the chest was the only option. After taking a bit of his chicken, he went to the board that had all the jobs and looked for the one that paid the most.

" **Damn, not a lot to go through."** Thought Ragna as he saw just how few jobs there were. Humming in thought, he looked at the two highest paying jobs and decided to wing it. Grabbing his chosen job, he went to Macao and placed the paper on his table. "I want this." Said Ragna as Macao examined the job. After doing so, Macao sighed.

"I don't know, Ragna. This has been on the board for awhile now." Said Macao. "Who knows how dangerous the threat is now. Or if the client even wants to pay us."

"But people are still in danger." Said Ragna, a bit angry that Macao mentioned money. "Besides, the reward will help us bigtime, right?"

"You got that right." Said Macao as he looked at the reward. If the client is still willing to pay, then the reward money will help them pay Twilight Ogre's monthly fee and get them back on their feet. Problem was that the job asked for the arrest of an entire dark guild. Something he doubted even their best mages in the old days can handle by themselves. Still…the kid looked pretty adamant on doing it. Sighing to himself and thinking he was going to regret this, Macao approved of it, but only if he took Bisca and Alzack with him, his best. Nodding in thanks, Ragna grabbed the two and the three hightailed it to the town that needed them.

* * *

 **Later**

 **Acacia**

* * *

"This is the town?" Asked Ragna as three walked in a street of Acacia, the town that sent the request.

"Yeah, this is it." Said Alzack as he spotted people going about their everyday lives though there was a sense of fear and depression in their movements and faces. "Don't be fooled, Ragna, this town is the hometown for the dark guild we're after."

"Still can't believe you wanted this job." Said Bisca. "And that Macao let you go. Don't get me wrong, you're a good guy, but I don't know much of your fighting prowess."

"None taken." Said Ragna as he watched for any dark wizards. "How come the government let this town become a hive for dark wizards?"

"Several reasons." Said Alzack. "This is just a small town, not worth the time for a massive military operation. 2nd, the military isn't really that good against wizards. Usually they rely on us to do the job. 3rd, I think that the dark guild is paying someone off to turn a blind eye, which makes sense since they've been here for five years."

"So, they have the homefield advantage." Said Ragna as he walked to the biggest building that the note said was their headquarters. As they walked to it, Ragna has a sneaking suspicion something was off. "That piece of paper had the location of the base, right? How come it was there?"

"Maybe dark guild was just arrogant and left their headquarters in plain view." Suggested Bisca, though she suspected that was wrong.

"Or maybe it's a trap." Said Alzack as he looked around for suspicious activity, hands close to his guns.

"Then we'll just spring the trap." Said Ragna. Before either of them could stop him, Ragna rushed toward the building and kicked it's large doors away, the hinges giving away and causing the doors to slam on some dark wizards, who were caught off-guard at the sudden attack. As he entered the building, Ragna looked around and saw a whole bunch of dark wizards, all eating brunch. Bringing out his sword, Ragna started to speak.

"Alright, you bunch of pansies, listen up!" Yelled Ragna as the dark wizards got ready for a fight. "I got two options for you! One, surrender and this will get easy for you! Two, you fight and we'll do this the hard way, leaving you all with severe concussions and internal bleeding! You're choice!" As soon as he finished that speech, Alzack and Bisca arrived with their guns at the ready. Seeing the two gun mages of Fairy Tail, the dark wizards laughed. They knew how Fairy Tail had become weak after the Tenrou island disaster and how they are now. To see such weaklings coming in to arrest them, seemed stupid and hilarious to them. The leader, a big man with brown hair and an eye patch covering his right eye, looked at the three Fairies with an arrogant grin.

"How about this, kid." Said the man as his cronies surrounding them. "You surrender and we'll make this quick. Or don't and die a painful death." Hearing this Ragna just scoffed, before brandishing his sword. So be it, get them boys!" Hearing this the dark wizards either charged at them with swords and spears or prepared several spells. Seeing this, Ragna just got out his sword and slashed at them, the shockwave sending most in the front away, knocking them unconscious to the sheer force. He then performed an upward slice with his sword at the left side while everyone was in shock, the slice caused a wave of dark energy in a shape of a monstrous head to charge at the group, which then slammed into some of them, causing severe damage to their legs. As everyone was recovering from the initial shock, Ragna charged at the leader and gathered dark energy in his fist before punch said fist in the leader's face, making him go across the room and go through the wall with ease. Seeing this, the remaining dark wizards just surrendered outright, obviously afraid of the new Fairy.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

After defeating the dark guild, Alzack had contacted the military and Magic council of what transpired. Though surprised at hearing Fairy Tail being the one that took back the town, they were still grateful of what happened and sent troops to arrest the dark guild and to help relieve the town with anything that they needed. Though grateful for the relief efforts of the Fiore military, the town was even more grateful at the Fairy Tail guild for relieving them of the dark guild that was plaguing them for five years. So much so, that the town threw them a party and feast for them. As Ragna combed on a mutton leg, Alzack looked at him with a smile.

"Have to admit, didn't think you can do this by yourself. Sorry about doubting you." Said Alzack.

"Just let it go." Said Ragna. "I was the new guy. You didn't have a good reason to trust me."

"True." Said Alzack. "I just wanted to say it, and so did Bisca." Ragna just scoffed before continuing to eat.

"So, did we get the reward?" Asked Ragna.

"Yup." Said Alzack. "First big hit we'd had in years. And I got the feeling that things will get better with you in Fairy Tail."

"Sure." Said Ragna as he looked at his Azure Grimoire, wondering why it worked despite no Seithr in the area. This was something that he needed to figure out. And he'd got a bad feeling that he'd wouldn't like the answer.

* * *

 **Two weeks later**

* * *

"Hey Ragna! Can you teach me some…"

"NO! For the thousandth time, no." Said Ragna as he drank his glass of water down. He then glared at Droy. "Now get the hell out of my face before I kick it out of the guild. Better yet, kick your food out of here." Afraid for his food, Droy then ran to the other end of the room, ignoring the giggling from Kinana.

"You didn't need to do that, Ragna." Said Kinana as placed a bowl of soup for Ragna.

"The guy kept bugging me to train him despite me saying no." Said Ragna as he began to eat. "Honestly, that guy needs to learn when to take no for an answer."

"Well, you can't blame him." Said Wakaba as he exhaled a puff of smoke. "He and Jet want to get stronger to help the guild more. And since you're our ace in the hole, he thought that you could help him get stronger."

"Well, sucks to be him, because I'm no teacher." Said Ragna as he looked at the old man. "I'd be a shit one anyway."

"Seriously, watch your language!" Scolded Macao. "We got kids here!" Romeo, his own son, just groaned.

"Dad, I can handle a little language. And Asuka isn't here today." Said Romeo before going back to his book.

"Besides, didn't you do the same back in the old days." Said Wakaba with a small smirk. The two then began to argue, making Ragan scoff. Those two were like big babies. Very old babies. Still, it amused him that they had each other's backs when needed. After finishing his food, Ragna went to the job board and picked out the highest paying job before taking off. Ever since he'd came, Fairy Tail's reputation went up a bit. To the point, that some people were willing to risk sending out job requests to them again. Wasn't much, but it helped keep them from debt from Twlight Ogre as well as any other taxes they needed to pay. As he'd walked to his designation, Ragna couldn't help but wonder what his fate will be in this world and if he should go back to his world.

* * *

 **This takes places after Centralfiction. So, if anyone knows the ending of Blazblue: Centralfiction, did I do Ragna's introduction accurately? Also, as much as I dislike doing it, this is going to be a harem. Largely due to a bet and my interest in actually doing a harem story. Also, one, a few Blazblue characters may come in as well. Two, please put a review in what you think of this story and what could be done to improve it. Three, these girls are not going to be in the harem: Erza, Lucy, Juvia, Levy, Mirajane, basically all of the Fairy Tail guild female characters.**


	2. Chapter 2

**marconator360- Thank you for your constructive criticism. It's refreshing to hear it. Anyway on to your points:**

 **One: I know that he erased his memories, I probably should have worded that differently to say that he did it on purpose. As for the Black Beast...I honestly don't know if he was nearing the process of turning into it or if it was taking a long time. It's pretty vague for me.**

 **Two- The harem part of this story won't be too involved in the story, which is why I didn't have the main Fairy Tail (Guild) girls be a part of it. (That and the fact that they're used in nearly everyone harem story involving Fairy Tail.) So, it won't take too much focus away from the plot and actions. You'll have a chapter about building relationships and Harem stuff (Maybe involve the spectacles of Eros too.), but I plan to make a plot-driven chapter along with that. However, I'm more than willing to hear what tips you have with making Harems stories that will prevent a big drop in quality.**

 **Three- I understand, having too many characters can be detrimental to a story, but I really want to include a certain trio of characters. I may have thought of a solution, but it's still being revised and changed. If you have tips on this, I'll be willing to listen.**

 **Four- Yeah, I have an explanation on that may cause criticism or praise, depending on the person. So, I'm willing to hear what your idea is.**

 **Anyway, thank you for telling me what you thought was wrong as it helps with this story in terms of quality, which is sadly not in my other stories, like RWBY: the Return, and the like. I'm still doing them, but I wish people will tell me what's wrong. But with that out of the way, let's get going on this.**

 **12/11/17- Revised a bit**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

"Inferno divider!" Yelled Ragna as he cut a giant slug in half. After getting the blood out of his sword, Ragna went to the corpse and begun to loot the body for the requested item, all the while, complaining about the smell. Soon, he managed to acquire the requested item, the slug's heart and lungs. Carefully placing the items in a special container the client gave him, Ragna walked back to the client to acquire his reward. Upon arriving, the client, a middle-aged man, smiled at seeing the Fairy Tail wizard. He then took the container and rushed to his kitchen. He then placed the items into a pot, where a whole bunch of magic items were surrounding it.

"If you don't mind me asking, but what are you planning on doing, sir?" Asked Ragna, curious.

"Well, I'm planning to create a potion that will make even the most disgusting food in terms of taste, into a five-star meal." Said the man as he began casting spells. "If it works, it'll make millions."

"Yeah…sure." Said Ragna, doubting the potion will make that much of a profit. "Well, can I have my reward, sir?"

"Of course!" Said the man before giving Ragna a sizable bag full of jewels. "Thank you for your assistance. It's good to know that Fairy Tail has someone like you in its ranks again."

"Thanks." Said Ragna before leaving. After a train ride and half an hour later, Ragna was soon approaching the guild hall. Upon entering, he spotted Macao at the bar with a tall, bald man with a thin, dark beard in some formal tradition wear. Curious, he walked over there to overhear their conversation.

"Still nothing?" Asked Macao as he drank his beer.

"I'm afraid so." Said the man. "I'm also afraid that, given that we searched for nearly seven years, they're gone for good. But we'll keep searching. If there's anyone that can survive that attack, it's them."

"Still, thanks for everything Jura." Said Macao before turning around, spotting Ragna. "Oh, Ragna. How was the mission?"

"Pretty uneventful." Said Ragna before tossing Macao the bag of money. "Just took a giant slug with ease. Wasn't even a fight."

"Well, with your skill, I can't see how it was." Said Macao as he inspected the money, in case it wasn't someone ripping them off like last time.

"So, this is your newest member." Said the man called Jura as he inspected Ragna. He then smiled. "He's quite a peculiar person."

"And you are?" Asked Ragna, wondering who this was.

"Oh, forgive me, I forgotten my manners." Said Jura with a sheepish smile. "My name is Jura, one of the ten wizard saints. I must admit, it was a pleasant surprise to hear that Fairy Tail had received such a strong individual such as yourself in its ranks. Not only that, but that it's gaining it reputation back."

"Uh…thanks, but aren't you from Lamia Scale?" Said Ragna, remembering a book that he read, along with several others, in order to get information about this world. He remembered what it said about the wizard saints and who are the current ones and which guilds they're afflicted with, if they are in one, of course. "How come you're here?"

"Well, it was out of respect of the old master and some of his wizards." Said Jura with a sad smile. "You see, I was good friends with him. And some of his wizards had even saved my life and helped bring down a dangerous dark guild called the Oración Seis. It was no surprise for me to become good friends with them. They were such a good bunch of youngsters." He then sighed with sadness. "Unfortunately, they all were at Tenrou island when it was attacked by Acnologia."

"The black dragon, right?" Asked Ragna, remembering of a book about Acnologia and how destructive it was. Not as destructive as the Black Beast, which took countless nuclear weapons simultaneously, but was enough to take on entire cities on its own as well as islands. It appeared suddenly on Tenrou island and sunk it all to the ground with the fairies still on the island.

"Correct." Said Jura. "Since then, Lamia Scale and various other organizations tried to search for survivors. But, given seven years passed, not many believe that the fairies survived Acnologia."

"But you're still persisting." Said Ragna. "You must have real respect for them if you're still doing this."

"I do." Said Jura with a smile. "And so, do several others in my guild. We won't stop searching until we find them." Ragna just cracked a small smile before speaking again.

"Hey, how about a match between you and me?" Asked Ragna as looked at Jura with a determined look. "I didn't get a good work-out with that slug. You wouldn't mind if I can fight you?" Macao was about to scold Ragna for his impudence when Jura laughed kindheartedly.

"My, my." Said Jura with a smile "You certainly remind me of a certain dragon slayer." He then remembered how gung-ho Natsu was in terms of fighting strong opponents, but this one actually requested and looked like he was okay with him saying no. "Very well. Besides, I actually wanted to see how strong you are." He then stood up. "Let's take it outside. Don't want the old hag to throw a fit on me for destroying Fairy Tail." Smiling, the two then walked to the outside. They then stood a few meters away from each other, a relatively safe distance from the guild hall. Meanwhile, all members of Fairy Tail, aside from Alzack and Bisca, who were out spending time with their kid, were spectating. Max, a Fairy Tail wizard that controls sand, was actually making a betting pool on who would win. Not surprisingly, most bet on Jura, but a few, or rather just two, betted on Ragna. He couldn't blame them, Jura was a wizard saint, an extremely powerful mage. Besides, it would be so worth seeing their faces if he'd actually beat Jura.

"Are you ready, Ragna?" Asked Jura as he got into a fighting stance.

"Ready when you are." Said Ragna while cracking his knuckles. The two stayed silent as they stared at each other. A few moments passed before Ragna suddenly charged at Jura with an extended fist, engulfed in energy, while calling out Hell's Fang. Jura merely made some hand signs, resulting in several rocks coming out of the ground and attempted to defend Jura. Emphasis on attempted as Ragna's attack went straight through and punched Jura in the chest, pushing him back. Every one of the spectators looked shocked at this as Ragna followed with an attack called Gauntlet Hades, which Jura dodged. They were even more surprised to see some red lights coming from Jura and entering Ragna.

"Most impressive." Said Jura with a smile. He was both impressed and shocked that Ragna penetrated his spell. This should be an interesting fight. He then launched a rock fist at Ragna, who dodged the attack via ducking. Unfortunately, this was what he wanted. He then launched several large rocks at Ragna's face, which forced him back after they hit him.

"That was a cheap shot." Said Ragna as he massaged his jaw.

"Well, the enemy will do the same, Ragna. So, why not do the same to them?" Asked Jura. "Besides, I have no doubt that you'll do the same."

"Point taken." Said Ragna before charging again, dodging any rocks that Jura threw at him. When he was two feet away from Jura, he then jumped in the air before repositioning himself to aim his sword at Jura's chest, yelling out Belial edge. Jura just dodged it by sidestepping before countering it with a rock fist, which Ragna dodged. He then launched a wave of dark energy at Jura, who just used several walls of rocks to defend himself. However, this was what Ragna wanted. He then charged at Jura while the dark energy nearly penetrated the rock walls. When Jura was about to subside the scattered rock walls, Ragna used one of his most powerful moves against him.

"Carnage!" Ragna then slashed at Jura with his sword before slashing again, this time with a wave of dark energy for extra damage. "Scissors!" Jura was thrown back by the end of the attack. Not to be undone, Ragna attacked Jura while he was in the air, throwing two punched before kicking in the head. He then extended his sword's blade, hitting Jura in the chest, before jumping back. As Jura got up from the onslaught of attacks, everyone was looking at Ragna in shock. Not believing that he was actually beating Jura.

"Am I dreaming or is the new guy actually beating Jura?" Asked Wakaba as he messaged his eyes, not believing what he was seeing.

"It's real." Said Kinana with a smile, happy that Ragna was holding his own. Macao just stayed silent as they all watched Jura get up with a smile.

"Most impressive." Said Jura. "You're holding back aren't you though?"

"Yup." Said Ragna with a smirk, shocking everyone at this."And you're doing the same correct?" Jura just smiled again.

"Indeed." Said Jura before launching several giant stone fists at Ragna, who simply stayed still before slicing all of them in half. The two combatants just stared at each other before charging.

* * *

 **Several hours later**

* * *

" ***Laughs*** This was the most fun I had in years." Said Jura as Kinana placed bandages over his head. He received quite a strong hit in the head from Ragna's sword while he was recovering from using his magic too much. Course, he managed to launch several rocks at Ragna's face, giving him a black eye, so there's that. "I must admit, I feel happiness that Fairy Tail has a strong member again. Dare I say it, you might single-handily bring it back to it's former glory."

"Thanks, but let's not get ahead of ourselves." Said Ragna as Laki, the other woman in Fairy Tail, inspected him for wounds. She, along with everyone else, was shocked to see no wounds on Ragna aside from some minor bruising and the black eye. He then explained he can heal quickly, which can be augmented from attacking his opponent. Such power explained why Jura felt a bit weakened whenever Ragna attacked him. It was a very useful ability as it both exhausted the opponent as well as healing the user. "I'm still one guy. I doubt I can bring this guild back to its former glory." Jura just nodded in understanding. "We're also struggling with money troubles still. Not enough people are handing out jobs to us."

"Well, in that case, why don't I spread the word that Fairy Tail is making a comeback." Offered Jura.

"It'll be appreciated." Said Macao with a smile. "We can actually use it now, since we got an ace in the hole."

"Then, I'll pass the word." Said Jura as he stood up. "Who knows, this may help get the other guilds to recognize." He then passed his goodbyes before leaving. As he left, he couldn't help, but think on Ragna.

" **Such a spirited, young man."** Thought Jura with a smile. **"He'll be a fine addition to Fairy Tail."**

"So, what do we do now?" Asked Ragna as Laki put an ice pack on Ragna's black eye.

"Well for starters…HOW ABOUT PAYING FOR THE DAMAGES YOU CAUSED TO THE GUILD!" Yelled Macao as he pointed to the broken door of the guild hall with some damage to the main floor.

"Oh yeah." Said Ragna as he rubbed his hair. "Well, better get to it."

"Master!" Scolded Kinana with a frown. "Ragna just got out of a fight with Jura that lasted for hours. He needs rest."

"I'll be fine." Said Ragna as he went to the job board, which somehow survived the destruction. He then picked some relatively well-paying jobs and left. "See you guys whenever." Said Ragna as he took off.

"Guy has the stamina of Natsus if he can go on jobs after a fight like that." Commented Max as he watched Ragna leave.

"True, but that what makes him our strongest member currently." Said Laki. She then turned to Max with a smirk. "I believe you all owe me and Kinana money now since the bet was Ragna not being beaten by Jura and since he didn't, cough up." Everyone then groaned before passing their money to Laki and Kinana.

* * *

 **A week later**

* * *

"This sucks." Said Ragna as he carried a bunch of crates to a train. "Why is this a job for wizards, anyway?"

"Dude, I have no idea." Said a conductor. "I just escort people to the train and help them with their luggage. Maybe because everyone else is just lazy."

"Gee, you think?" Asked Ragna, sarcastically before placing the last crate into the train. "That's the last one. Now, pay up."

"You got it." Said the conductor before going inside the train and coming back with a bag of jewels. "For real, sorry about this. This usually doesn't happen."

"No worries." Said Ragna. "Just wondering why this was a job in the first place."

"You and me both." Said the conductor before saying goodbye, which Ragan did in return. As the train left, Ragna left to find a restaurant as his train wasn't coming until half an hour from now. As he walked. he wondered what can bring Fairy Tail from the rock bottom it was in now. Despite his efforts, people are still skeptical about their strength, calling them Wimpy tail or the like. As he as humming to himself, a scream suddenly caught his attention. Curious, he rushed to where it originated from. Upon arriving, he spotted two women guarding a couple of children against some thugs. Growling to himself, he walked over to the group. Upon getting a closer look, he saw that the thugs were scared at the two women. Evidence were their shivering, and some of them having some scorch marks. Plus some of them were unconscious, giving Ragna the impression that these two were wizards and were fighters. Speaking of the women, one was pink-haired and the other dark-haired. The pink-haired woman was wearing a pink coat covering a short green-dress. She also wore green boat and a puffy pink hat. Her pink hair was covering one of her eyes. Her clothing exposed her legs as well as revealing her shoulders and upper cleavage. The other woman was wearing a purple dress which wraps around her body as a robe, which exposed her legs. The dress was complimented with a yellow cloth belt that was tied under her breasts. Her long, dark hair was tied back into two distinct sections; the first being two thin strands that are plaited and looped around to form hoops that sit on either side of her neck, whilst the rest was tied back with bows into two pigtails that flow in thick locks around body, where they stop just above the ground, the ends curling. Her fringe is left out, allowing her long bangs to fall over her face and into her eyes, save for a single strand which curls upwards away from her head. Upon getting close, Ragna spoke.

"What's going on here?" Asked Ragna as he glared at the thugs. Upon seeing the new fairy, the thugs looked at each other, uncertain in fighting against him. Not to mention, the two women that beaten some of them from before. Deciding it was best to leave, the group then left with their unconscious members in tow. Scoffing at this, Ragna then walked to the two women, who were currently tending to the kids.

"You okay?" Asked the pink-haired woman as she wiped some dirt off of a young boy while her friend was taking care of the rest. The children just nodded their heads while thanking for the ladies for their help.

"Next time, don't steal from those that can catch up to you." Said the other woman. She then brought out some jewels from a bag she was carrying. "This should help you for some time."

"You girls need help?" Asked Ragna as he saw this. The pink-haired woman just stared at the man, btu also smiled gratefully.

"Yes." Said the woman. "Thanks for scaring them off."

"Like they had a chance against me." Said Ragna. "Or you apparently since they're were close to cra…wetting themselves." Said Ragna, catching himself from swearing in front of kids.

"Aww, thanks." Said the pink-haired woman with a smile. "Names Cosmos, by the way, and this is Kamika." The dark-haired woman just waved her hand as she ruffled the hair of a brunette girl.

"These kids orphans?" Asked Ragna. "Isn't there an orphanage here?"

"Yeah, but the orphanage is struggling to afford to pay this bandit gang that exhorting them." Said Cosmos with a hint of anger. "The local law enforcement tried to stop it, but they got their hands full with other problems.

"Or are being paid off to turn a blind eye." Said Kamika as she walked to Ragna. "These kids were trying to steal some food from the bandits when they got spotted."

"And you two were passing by and decided to help out." Said Ragna. Kamika nodded in confirmation. "Well, would help, but I got to go to another job. So…be seeing you." He then turned around to leave. Just when he was about to, Cosmos spoke.

"You're that new fairy, correct?" Asked Cosmos with interest. "The one that everyone is talking about?"

"Yup." Said Ragna. He then turned back around. "Look I got to go now. If you want to talk with me, then do it when I'm back at the guild hall…or whenever I'm there." He then took off. As they saw him leave, the two women let out a smile.

"Interesting." Said Cosmos, cupping her face. "And quite handsome too."

"Hmm…I think that we should keep an eye on him." Said Kamika with a smirk. "If he's as powerful as the rumors say…then I suppose it's worthwhile to keep an eye on him."

"Yeah, but first let's take care of these kids." Said Cosmos before looking back at the kids before her, letting out a kind smile.

"Yeah." Said Kamika before helping Cosmos escorting the kids back to the orphanage. As they walked, Kamika whispered to Cosmos. "And take care of a certain group of thugs, right?" Cosmos just let out a dark smile before nodding.

* * *

 **Yeah, the Hungry wolf Knights girls were introduced. Why? Well, it's because I found them...interesting when they were introduced. I felt that Hiro, not to be a jerk, wasted so much on them. He could have introduced them in a more gray light. Like, have them kill some members of a dark guild when the main cast were sent to arrest them. That could have been a great moral conflict. Anyway, rate and review and I'll see you guys next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **marconator 360- thank you again for your criticism. For that idea, just PM me whenever you have the chance.**

 **Guest- Good ideas, unfortunately, I'm currently thinking thathis Ars Magus powers would be sufficient for him, to avoid making him too overpowered. Still, I'll think on that matter. As for the Hungry Wolf Knights, I don't think they'll do that. From what was gathered about them, they're a secret squad that serves the kingdom. I highly doubt that they would do such a thing, even with someone that seems up their alley.**

 **1idontcare- Thank you. The interactions prior to the main cast being introduced in this story will probably be around until two more chapters. Even then, the main cast will come in maybe two or three chapters. I haven't decided yet.**

* * *

Everything was silent in the Fairy Tail guild. Ragna was currently drinking his beer while everyone else was arguing or serving drinks. Groaning in irritation, he tried to dull out the sound when Kinana came to him.

"Something wrong, Ragna?" Asked Kinana as she sat next to him, currently free at the moment.

"Nothing, just annoyed with all the noise." Said Ragna, making Kinana giggle.

"If you think this is bad, then you would hate it back when Fairy Tail was number one." Said Kinana.

"Really?" Asked Ragna as he looked at her. She then brightened up at the prospect of telling how Fairy Tail used to be.

"Yeah. Brawls happened all the time, and there was constant noise." Said Kinana before giggling. "And the third master, Makarov, would sometime cry at how much we have to pay for the damages our core members would do to the guild and the towns they go to."

"Sounds…awesome." Said Ragna.

"Yeah. They knew how to have fun." Said Kinana before frowning in sadness. "Now, the spirit isn't what it used to be. I miss them all." Ragna just stayed silent, thinking back to all those he left behind, particularly those he actually was close to. He wondered what they were doing now. Racheal was probably doing her usual thing. Noel was probably still in the NOL. Same with her friends and Jin, his own brother. Sighing to himself, he wondered if they were doing alright and that they were fine without him. Moving those thoughts aside, he looked back at Kinana.

"So, what were they like?" Asked Ragna.

"Well…" Said Kinana as she put a finger near her mouth. "Natsu, our resident fire dragon slayer, would always ask for brawls with our strongest members. He always fought with Gray, an ice mage, almost all the time. Erza was out most powerful female wizard, and was usually the one that kept Gray and Natsu in line. Though they sometimes get away with their antics because she wasn't around. Lucy was probably the only one that was able to keep them in line too, but she wasn't as threatening as Erza." She then went along with explaining all the ones that went to Tenrou island in great detail with Ragna paying attention to it all. Once she was done, Ragna had to admit they were a…eccentric group of people. Eccentric, but friendly. He would have probably made friends with this Lucy and Erza. Probably pick a fight with Gajeel in his younger years. And probably knock Natsu out whenever he tried to fight him. He was about to ask her if she believed they were still alive when the doors to the guild hall opened. Turning around, he was not surprised to see Twilight Ogre coming inside and demanding Macao to pay up. Sighing to himself, Macao just gave them a bag of money, which they took and then left.

"How long do we have to keep paying them, Macao?" Asked Ragna as he saw the master sigh to himself. "Shouldn't we have a good enough reputation by now?"

"While our reputation is recovering, we still have to pay Twilight Ogre." Said Macao. "Mostly because they're the ones that helped us stay active during our dark days. Just a few more months and that's it, no more paying them."

"Better be." Said Ragna before drinking the last of his beer. "Well, I got to go on a job, any keepers?" Macao just stroked his chin.

"Just one. It's a delivery one though. So, you won't get as paid as much." Explained Macao.

"Better than nothing. What's the job about?" Asked Ragna.

"Nothing too bad." Said Macao as he placed the job request on Ragna's table. "You just gotta deliver a package to Acacia town."

"That's it?" Asked Ragna, not believing it. "Why would someone ask a mage to do this stuff. Wouldn't a normal mailman handle this?"

"Simple." Said Macao. "Apparently the package comes from a rich guy here in Magnolia. He's probably worried that someone will try to steal the package, which isn't surprising. For some reason, bandits have been stealing cargo from caravans all the way to simple couriers. So, he probably wants to ensure the package is delivered safely."

"Well, I guess that sort of makes sense." Said Ragna. "What's the package?"

"No idea." Said Macao. "You'll have to figure that out yourself."

"Okay, anything else that I need to know?" Asked Ragna as he got up.

"Just two things." Said Macao. "One, be careful on the train ride there. Some bandits have been spotted on the way to Acacia. Two, the package needs to be delivered to the guild hall there. That's were it needs to go."

"There's a guild there?" Asked Ragna.

"Oh yeah." Said Macao before smiling a perverted grin. "Mermaid heel, the only female-guild in all Fiore. You're one lucky son of a gun, boy."

"…Yeah." Said Ragna. "So, how come they're the only female-guild in Fiore? They're sexist?"

"Well, kind of." Said Macao before turning somewhat serious. "No doubt there are some sexist in the group, but most are pretty alright. They just don't want to be hit on some undesirable guys. Catch my drift?" Ragna just nodded in confirmation. "Anyway, just ask for the guild master or one of her assistants, pass them the package, and mission accomplished. You get your reward."

"That sounds too simple." Said Ragna. "But, since it's the only one, why not." He then got up and took the paper, reading the instructions. He then left for the place where he's supposed to pick up the package.

"Kids, got a good heart." Said Macao with a smile.

"He would have fitted nicely with the old Fairy Tail." Said Kinana. Macao nodded his head in agreement.

* * *

 **Later**

 **Acacia**

* * *

" ***Sighs*** A puppy? Seriously?" Said Ragna as he watched as the white puppy with black eyes panting happily at him, looking at him with naïve curiosity form his cage. He couldn't believe that he was reduced to a dog deliveryman. Back his world, he was one of the most dangerous people on the planet and the now he's been reduced to lugging cargo and delivering puppies to guilds. Something that normal people could do with ease! Sighing again, he walked to his destination. Upon arriving to the Mermaid Heel guild, he had to admit, it looked pretty cool. It was a huge white marble castle-like building that was five stories tall. It had a tall fence for security and had a pretty garden full of flowers and the like. Humming an appreciation, Ragna walked to the gate, which was opened, and entered. Upon entering, he was surprised to see a café like bar that had a fountain and small lake. Ignoring the unnecessary environmental objects, Ragna went to the bar section of the main floor. Upon seeing the white-haired man, the bartender rose an eyebrow before walking over to him.

"Can I help you?" Asked the woman.

"Yeah, I'm here to deliver this puppy to someone in the guild." Said Ragna, revealing the puppy and the note that came along with it. After cooing at the puppy, the woman took the letter and nodded her head.

"Yes. I know who to give this to." Said the woman before taking the puppy. "Thank you for this. My friend has been waiting for this puppy for weeks."

"It's alright." Said Ragna. "Just wish my guild would get less types of jobs." Upon hearing that, the bartender widened her eyes.

"You're that new member of Fairy Tail." Said the bartender, looking at the man in a bit of surprise. "The one that's been trying to regain its former glory. Upon hearing that, everyone in the bar then looked at Ragna, which soon entered to whispers.

"That's the new fairy?"

"He looks so hot!"

"Why is it a guy?"

Ignoring the banter of him, Ragna just shook his head before leaving. Upon getting up and leaving, he was immediately tackled to the ground. Looking up, he saw a girl with fake cat ears and some marks on her cheeks, looking at him with curiosity.

"What the heck do you want?" Asked Ragna as the girl got off him, allowing him to get up.

"Sorry about that." Said the girl with a sheepish smile. "I only managed to spot you when you were about to leave, so I panicked."

"Sure." Said Ragna. "Did you need anything?"

"Actually yeah." Said the girl before looking at Ragna with some appreciation. "I wanted to say thanks for helping Fairy Tail. A friend of mine used to be a member. And I think she would appreciate you doing this during Fairy Tail's hardest time."

"It's no problem." Said Ragna. "Did she leave?"

"No." Said the girl before donning a sad face. "She was on Tenrou island."

"Oh." Said Ragna, feeling a bit sorry for asking. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Said the girl before cheering up. "So, anyway, the names Millianna and…that's it actually."

"Okay. Then I'll just be going." Said Ragna as he took off. He was about to leave when a voice stopped him. Sighing in annoyance, Ragna turned around to see a young woman at around his age coming right at him. Her attire consisted of a white blazer with gold lining, and a large collar, which was open to reveal a collared shirt and red tie underneath. The cuffs of the blazer are tucked into a pair of white wrist-high gloves. On her legs, she wore a pair of black tights, which were tucked into a pair of knee-high boots and sit under a short white frilled skirt. Finally, she had a white headband with a white ribbon tied at the middle in a bow, pointing straight up, giving her the look of a rabbit. Not like Rachel's ribbons, but close enough. Her long, dark purple hair was straight like a river that fell in in the middle of her back. Her bangs were also framing her face. Her hazel-colored eyes were looking at him with an impassive face, though they held a bit of interest in them. Upon stopping near him, she began looking over him up and down. After finishing, she began to speak.

"You're the new fairy?" Asked the young woman as she eyes his intriguing appearance.

"Yeah." Said Ragna with some caution. "Is there a problem?" The woman just shook her head.

"No." Said the young woman. "I just wanted to see if your as strong as the wizard saint Jura had made you out to be."

"And I meet your expectations?" Asked Ragna.

"That and more." Said the woman before looking up at Ragna as he was a bit taller than her. "I have to admit, you seem capable of regaining some of Fairy Tail's reputation back."

"Thanks." Said Ragna. "Miss…"

"Kagura." Said the woman. "Kagura Mikazuchi."

"The ace of Mermaid Heel." Said Millianna. "She's our best wizard."

"I see." Said Ragna, making a note that her name same as his world's Kagura, only this one was female and his was male. 'Well, this was nice and all, but I got to go back to Magnolia, get my reward, and then get another job to do."

"Again. Don't you take a break?" Asked Millianna, remembering that the new fairy was known for doing multiple jobs with minimal breaks.

"Here and there, but our debt to Twilight ogre is forcing me to take overtime." Said Ragna.

"Don't you get tired?" Asked Millianna with some concern.

"Well…yeah, a bit." Said Ragna, remembering the constant reminders Kinana along with everyone else to get him to take a long break. He never listens. "But I can take one more job, so long as it's high paying. Though I doubt that."

"Then perhaps we can offer one of ours." Said Kagura before walking to the Mermaid Heel request board. She then picked out a flyer and went back. "This job requests the elimination of a cave full of wyverns. The reward is pretty high too, even if its split between you and I."

"Wait just you? How come no one else is coming along?" Asked Ragna, confused.

"Truth be told, this job was meant for only me as my other guild mates can't handle this sort of thing. While I have no doubt in my abilities, it's always nice to have someone watching your back. Besides, this is a perfect opportunity to see you in action." Explained Kagura before staring at Ragna. "That is if you wanted to." Ragna just hummed in thought before answering.

"Well, depends on how long the trip is." Said Ragna.

"Shouldn't be too long." Said Kagura. "It would six hours to go there and back. And the Wyverns should take an hour as they're not the most powerful breeds. I'll have the recipient for your delivery write a letter to her uncle to tell him to give the reward to one your guild."

"I guess that's fine." Said Ragna. "I'll just forward a letter to them to inform them about the incoming money and what I'm doing."

"Excellent." Said Kagura with a nod. "Then, come along. I'll lead you to the train station." With that, Kagura left the guild and stood outside. Upon her leaving, Ragna then turned to Millianna, who had a small smile on her face.

"Can she truly fight against a whole nest of Wyverns on her own?" Asked Ragna, curious.

"Oh yeah!" Said Millianna with a proud smile. "Don't you worry about her. She can handle herself."

"Alright, just checking." Said Ragna. "Well, see ya."

"Bye!" Yelled Millianna with a smile as Ragna left. Upon him leaving, Millianna went into thought. "Hmm…wonder if he and Kagura can make a good couple?"

* * *

 **Few hours later**

 **Wyvern nest**

* * *

"This is it?" Asked Ragna as they look at a giant cave deep on a cliffside of a small mountain.

"Correct." Said Kagura before brandishing her sword. "Get ready, I'm about to flush them out." Ragna just nodded before getting ready. He was about to ask her how she was going to draw them out when he suddenly felt a large amount of magic power coming from her. Not to mention, he felt the mountain shake from something.

"What are you doing?" Asked Ragna, surprised a bit at the sudden increase in power.

"Increasing the gravity in cave." Said Kagura. "It should force all the Wyverns out, allowing us to engage them all at once."

'You really think we can take them all out once?" Asked Ragna, a bit surprised. Though he had no doubt on Kagura's or his own, this still felt a little reckless. Then again, he'd done stupider things than this so he probably shouldn't he surprised or shocked. He then heard some roaring and got out his weapon. Sure enough, a large number of Wyverns of differing sizes came out.

"We really need to take them all out?" Asked Ragna as Kagura stop exerting her magic and readied her weapon still in it's scabbard, something that made Ragna raise an eyebrow.

"Not really." Said Kagura. "We simply need to take out the alpha male and female. Though I certainly recommend killing them all as some Wyverns are known to stick around despite the alphas being killed. I also need to mention that we need to keep any Wyvern eggs intact. The client wants them for something."

"Okay and I'm guessing the alphas are the two biggest ones, right?" Asked Ragna as he saw the two largest Wyverns looking at them with hungry eyes while the rest were a bit cautious. Kagura just nodded. "Alright then," Ragna then raised his sword. "You take them while I take out the rest." Kagura simple nodded in understanding before charging at the alphas, moving so fast that it looked like she teleported. She then did so again, but this time using her sword's scabbard as a slicing weapon. A moment passed before the two alphas were instantly cut in half, blood spilling everywhere. Ragna widened his eyes a bit at what he just say before jumping in the air and slamming his sword's tip into the skull of an adult Wyvern, killing it. He then poured some energy into the sword, which caused the blade portion to extend before turning forward, turning the weapon into a scythe with crimson energy flowing through it, which also resulted in a blade of energy appearing behind the blade. Using his sword in it scythe form, Ragna charged at the three closet Wyverns before slashing at their heads, cutting through their hides and slicing their head in half. As the bodies fell to the ground, Ragna fired a wave of dark energy at a group of adolescent Wyverns, who were charging at him.

Kagura, meanwhile, watched with interest as Ragna kept slicing the Wyverns with ease. Humming in thought, Kagura sliced the head off of a teenage Wyvern when it tried to sneak up at her.

" **He is as powerful as the rumors say."** Thought Kagura as she watched him ducked under a Wyvern's fire breath before sliding under it. Using the momentum from the sliding, he sliced opened the Wyvern's underbelly, resulting in it's insides falling out. He then grabbed the tail and slammed the nearly dead Wyvern at another one, amazing her with his strength. **"Perhaps even more so. If only he was a freelancer and a girl, we could dominate this year's Grand Magic game. Oh well…we'll just have to train even harder in case his guild decides to participates."** Her thoughts then stopped when she saw Ragna finished off the last ones with ease.

"That was actually easier than I thought." Said Ragna as he saw Kagura walking over to him. "Was this just a way to see me in action?"

"Yes, my apologies for deceiving you." Said Kagura. "My curiosity took over. Though you certainly didn't need my help." She then looked at the carnage that he caused.

"Yeah." Said Ragna. "Still, can you ask a question? How did you kill those things with your scabbard?"

"If you want to know how to do so, I'm afraid that's a secret I'm not willing to divulge." Said Kagura. "It's a technique that requires much patience and concentration to do so. However, I may be willing to teach you if you earn my trust. Just know that it's an ancient art that was thought to be lost. It allows me to use my sword's cutting power without even using the blade."

"I see." Said Ragna, impressed. His world didn't have anything like that. "How come you use that style and not your blade?"

"It's because my sword is dangerous." Explained Kagura. "It can unleash a calamity if it's ever unsheathed."

" **Kind of sounds like a Nox Nyctores."** Thought Ragna as he eyed the weapon. "Well, thanks for the info. Want to investigate the cave for eggs?"

"Yes." Said Kagura before entering the cave with Ragna in tow.

"So how come the client wants these?" Asked Ragna as they entered the cave.

"The client was a wealthy aristocrat." Said Kagura. "I assume that they want the eggs for food. Wyverns eggs are pretty edible and delicious."

"Okay. Wonder if I should crack one." Commented Ragna as he spotted some eggs. He then took them and placed them in a giant bag.

"Though I will admit I'm curious too, I wouldn't recommend it." Said Kagura as she picked some up. "Wyvern eggs can also kill someone if not cooked properly and some have been known to kill a human when eaten. Fortunately, this type of Wyvern isn't one of those." After filling her bad as well as Ragna's with eggs, the two left the cave for the train station.

* * *

 **Much later**

 **Mermaid Heel**

* * *

"I must admit, that was a good payment and bonus." Said Kagura as she drank her lemonade.

"Yeah. Pretty crazy he paid that much." Commented Ragna as he looked at his bag, overflowed with money. "Must like Wyvern eggs."

"He's rich. He has no idea how to use his money. Or use it." Said Kagura with a hint of disgust. "Still, this should be sufficient, correct?"

"Yeah." Said Ragna. "Regardless, it was nice meeting you. Hope to do this again with you."

"Likewise." Said Kagura with a smile. She then shook Ragna's hand before watching him leave.

" **Good man."** Thought Kagura **. "He's certainly a keeper."**

* * *

 **Later**

 **Fairy Tail guild**

* * *

"Three cheers for Ragna! For making another big score!" Yelled Macao, too drunk to think of his actions. Ragna just groaned, wondering if he should drink until he went unconscious. He was tempted to do so when Droy began to hug him along with Jet and Wakaba.

" **If I had to choose between fighting Terumi, Relius, Rachel, Hakumen, Nine, and Kokonoe all at once or all this, then take me to my early grave. Least I go down in a blaze of glory."** Thought Ragna as Wakaba spilled some alcohol on his hair, making his eye twitch. Even Kinana was drunk, giggling to herself as she and Laki were flirting with the remaining guys. Having enough of this, he pushed everyone off him before going over to Romeo, and Bisca, both thankfully sober. The former because he was too young and the latter because someone had to help him from preventing anyone from making any mistakes.

"So, kid, anything wrong?" Asked Ragna, remembering all the times he saw the kid acting all glum. He rarely ever interacted with him aside from some greetings. So, might as well ask him now.

"Nothing wrong." Said Romeo while looking at his soda, somewhat glum. Bisca just sighed to herself before answering Ragna's question.

"He's still upset at what Fairy Tail is now." Said Bisca. "He's upset that it's been reduced to this. He watched as it slowly degraded in time, watched as people left and people began to insult us."

"Don't get me wrong, Ragna." Said Romeo, looking at Ragna. "I'm grateful with what you're doing right now. It's just that I want Fairy Tail back on top again. And I seriously doubt that you can do that by yourself."

"Romeo." Scolded Bisca. "That's incredibly rude."

"It's okay, Bisca." Said Ragna. "Kids got his reasons. Plus, it seems pretty unlikely that a single person can do that all by himself, no matter how powerful he is. You guys helped out too. If it weren't for you guys keeping Fairy Tail's name alive, I wouldn't be here now."

"You're too modest, Ragna." Said Bisca. "Though everyone will appreciate you saying that."

"It's no biggy." Said Ragna with a smirk. The three then watched as Alzack made a fool of himself with Droy.

"Oh dear. Got to go. Have to save my husband from further embarrassment." Said Bisca before taking off, leaving the two men alone.

"Look, Ragna, can you…teach me how to…" Ragna then interrupted Romeo.

"No." Said Ragna. "No matter what you try to say, I'm not teaching you anything. Anything I know, isn't meant for you. I'm a horrible teacher anyway. So, remember that before trying to ask me again. Cause I'm not teaching you anything." Upon seeing his disappointed expression, Ragna sighed to himself. "Look, I'm sure you'll get your time, just not yet. Trust me. For now, just stay here and keep morale up or something. Or…tend to the bar."

"You're awful at this." Said Romeo, bluntly.

"Yup." Said Ragna before drinking his beer in content, watching as everyone celebrated of the good fortune they were having. Seeing all this reminded him of the time when he partaken in that feast with everyone of his world before his big fight with Azrael, a real powerhouse. He may have disliked and even hated some of them at the time, but they all sure needed that. Calm before the storm. Plus, as much as he didn't want to say it at the time, it was nice just having a hot meal with his allies and, dare he say it, friends. Sighing to himself, he resumed his walk to the train. As the train was making its way to Magnolia, he wondered what Noel was doing.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

* * *

A blond-haired girl with emerald green eyes, wearing a nun uniform, was feeding a white-haired girl with a red-eye and bandages on her right eye, who also was staring out in space with a soulless expression on her face. The blond just sighed as she continued to feed the girl.

"Everything okay?" Asked another blond girl, this time with red eyes upon entering the room the two were in. She as well was wearing a nun uniform.

"Just the usual." Said the first blond girl after feeding the white-haired girl with porridge. "Nu isn't responding and is just starting out into space."

"Nu's status is the same as before; in a comatose state." Said the other girl. "Conclusion; nothing may snap her out of this, Noel."

"But we have to keep trying, Lambda." Said Noel. "She's our sister."

"Nu is sister, both in DNA and in religious status." Said Lambda, rather unnecessarily.

" ***Sighs*** And that means we have to take care of her." Said Noel after finishing feeding Nu. "Dinners ready, right?"

"Yes." Said Lambda before leaving. Noel just hugged Nu before leaving as well. Upon leaving, Noel couldn't help, but think of why Nu was like this. Was it because of something traumatic in her youth? Was it because of an accident? Or was it because of someone? Sighing to herself, he vowed to figure out what was the reason. Not just to fix Nu, but to sate her curiosity on why she was like this. As she entered the room where Lambda was at, she couldn't help, but think even her and Lambda were missing something in their lives. Or someone. If it was someone, she hoped they were doing fine.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

* * *

"Please help us, Ragna!" Yelled Droy and Jet as they were hiding behind some rocks to keep away a giant bug monster the size of a house that was trying to kill them.

"Didn't I tell you guys to not follow me during the more dangerous missions!?" Yelled Ragna as he charged at the monster.

" **I need a drink again. Or ten!"** Thought Ragna as he climbed on the bug's back before impaling it in the head with his sword. After pulling the sword out, Ragna looked at the two fairies in annoyance.

"How about next time, you guys actually listen to me." Said Ragna as the two fairies looked sheepishly at him. " ***Sighs*** Well, can you guys help me carry this thing back to the village?" The two just groaned before helping him carry it back. Upon arriving at the village and getting their reward, the three decided to take a break at a nearby bar. As the three were drinking their water or sodas in content, Jet spoke.

"Look, sorry about following you. We just wanted to help you out. Since you…keep doing all these hard jobs by yourself." Said Jet.

"Look, I appreciate the thought, I really do, but you guys can't handle this stuff." Said Ragna. "And I know because all of these requests asked for me specifically." Jet just nodded his head at that. "Just…do the jobs that you guys can handle without too much difficulty. No need to get killed trying to help me."

"We know, but we want to show the people that Fairy Tail isn't just one guy and that the others can do stuff too." Said Droy.

"I get it." Said Ragna, he then thought of an idea. "Then how about I help you guys with a job? Perhaps that will get the desired result?"

"Could work." Said Droy after some thought. Jet nodded in agreement.

"Then how about this, we got and do a delivery job or something similarly." Offered Ragna. The other two just smiled before giving Ragna a toast, who did so after a smirk. As the three drank, Ragna couldn't help but think that this would have been impossible for him to do so with others in his world. Everyone would have denied, insulted him, tried to kill him, or were just too stupid to do it right. It felt…nice actually doing this. Unfortunately, the moment ended when two people and…walking cats barged in and acted like they owned the world. Well, one guy and a cat were acting like that, the other guy was just staying stoic while the other cat looked oblivious to everything. The loud mouth, a spikey, blond-haired man with fanged teeth wore an opened, armless, blue vest that had matching gloves that went to his biceps. He wore cream-colored pants along with this. His friend wore a cloak that covered his entire body. His dark-hair covered his right eye and nearly touched his shoulders. He had a scar just on the bridge of his nose. His slit, red eyes were looking at everything with disinterest. The cats were very different. The red cat, the one that was making so much noise, wore a blue, armless vest like his buddy, and the other was green with a…frog suit? The four just walked to the bar before ordering some food and drinks. Eventually, the blond spotted the fairies and grinned.

"Well, look who it is. The former number one guild in Fiore." Said the blond before making an arrogant smile. "How's it like at the bottom?" While Ragna's arm twitched at this, Jet and Droy just let it go, though they did make a sour face at that. "Must suck, having to lick on other people's boots just to survive. Even with that new member of yours," He then pointed to Ragna. "You guys will never become what you used to be and you'll never get out of the shithole you guys are in." Now Ragna was clenching his glass so hard that it was beginning to crack. "That new guy of yours should join our guild, where he can actually be meaningful to the public because everyone knows that Fairy Tail is the most pathetic guild in Fiore" He couldn't finish that sentence because Ragna had just slammed his glass into the bar, making it scatter and forcing everyone to look at him. He then turned to the blond with an impassive face.

"Got a problem with Fairy Tail?" Asked Ragna as the other patrons and bartenders were getting away in case a brawl happened. "Cause you got a problem with me if that's the case." Before either Jet or Droy can stop him, the blond just smirked.

"Yeah, I got a problem." Said the blond. "You should stop being in this loser guild and come over to Sabertooth, where your talents would actually be useful."

"He's right." Said the red cat. "You won't be on the same level as Sting and Rogue here," He then pointed to the two humans that he came with. "But you're be at least be one of our top members."

"Yeah." Said the frog suit-clad cat. "Sabertooth is the best." The black-haired one, the one called Rogue, just stared at Ragna with disinterest. Ragna just made a noise of disgust before staring the blond, Sting, down.

"How about this." Said Ragna. "Go back to whatever shithole you came from and never come back. Because I'm not abandoning this guild or these guys." Sting looked shocked at this for a moment before narrowing his eyes.

"Seriously." Said Sting, incredulously. "You'd rather be with Wimpy Tail than with the number one guild in Fiore? You got a screw loose or something?"

"No." Said Ragna. "I just know where my priorities are. Besides, why would I be in a guild with a shithead like you." Sting just growled at that insult.

"You got a death wish, pal?" Asked Sting as he gathered magic power to his fist.

"Question is, do you?" Asked Ragna as he drew out his sword. Droy and Jet attempted to stop him, but Ragna just shrugged it off. "I'd rather not make a scene or fight here, so just get the hell out of here and crawl back to that guild of yours." Sting, not willing to let this go, launched a fist at Ragna, filled with magic power. Ragna just grabbed it with ease, much to everyone's shock. He then headbutted Sting so hard that it have him a nose bleed while also sending him to the ground. As his cat was tending to him, Ragna, Jet and Droy were leaving, the latter two glad to do so.

"You'll regret this!" Yelled Sting as he watched Ragna leave, which resulted him bringing out the middle finger at Sting, further infuriating him. Before he could get up and fight him, Rogue stopped him, telling him to not make a fool of himself further and that Ragna wasn't worth it. As they were walking down the road to Fairy Tail, Droy went up and began to talk to Ragna.

"Why did you do that?" Asked Droy, curious.

"Cause the guy was insulting you guys and the guild. Might as well make him shut up." Said Ragna.

"Yeah, but you might have just made an enemy of Sabertooth and that's something we rather not have." Said Jet. "They're number one for a good reason."

"Even if they are, they don't match your morals and spirit." Said Ragna. "I'd pick you guys over them any day." The two were shocked at this. Before they could ask why, Ragna just told them. "Because you'd guys actually treat each other like family. Plus, you'd guys held on despite all the criticism thrown at you. That takes guts and courage. Something that I like in people. Now, let's just get back to the guild hall. We got a job to do together." He then went on as the two fairies just stopped to look at him. They then smiled before rushing to catch up with him.

* * *

 **For those of you wondering, I think that Ragna is currently the kind of person that would swear when sufficiently annoyed or angered with someone.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **1idontcare-Thank you. The meet up between Ragna and the Tenrou team will be short because I don't see any reason to extend that part of the story. And yeah, I believe the seven-year time skip is a good plot starter that isn't used as much as I think it should be. Plus, I rather like the side characters. Don't get me wrong, I like the main characters, but Hiro does so much with them that he neglects the side characters, which I don't blame him for, as they're all pretty awesome in their own rights. In my opinion, it's hard to focus on side characters without them overshadowing the main ones. It's also my opinion, that side characters will help liven a franchise as it shows us that there are people beyond the back ground characters and the main cast. POV chapters will eventually come.**

 **Mystech Master- Yes, there is. Can't say anymore as that would be spoiling. As for them coming...spoiler. As for the true Azure, he'll have it. He'll just not have full control over it yet. Just pretend that...uh...his current power level is that similar to his power during Chrono phantasma, just a bit more powerful. He'll eventually know about it and master/control it, just not now. As for the complete domination, we'll see.**

 **J0K3R Of Monday- Well, I am aiming for decent at the very least. Anything else makes me fell happy. Unfortunately, we're past the point I can rectify his personality without drastically changing the story. I'll try to provide explanations though. Then again, they may not be adequate explanations. And thank you for the comment on his fighting style. I actually thought I did poorly on that.**

 **Gerald Sta Maria Terumi 310-I heave heard about that crossover game. It appears, however, that most people care only about the RWBY characters in it. Not that it's bad, I just only hear people caring about the RWBY characters, which is bad because of how bad the fandom can be, or so I heard. For example, if Ragna is swearing at Ruby...I'm worried that will cause the fandom to hate his characters, which is stupid. Either way, I'm actually okay with the RWBY being in there. Makes for great marketing. Just wondering why they were chosen. And here I am wondering why this story is better than my RWBY crossover: RWBY: The Return. *Chuckles sadly* Why can't anyone review that. Anyway, interested in it when it comes out.**

 **shadowedge27- Uh...can you be more specific. I can't understand what you're trying to convey, sorry.**

* * *

"This is where you need it Kinana?" Asked Ragna as he was holding a large barrel of alcohol.

"Yup." Said Kinana as she watched him place the barrel where it belonged. The two then went inside the guild, where everyone was doing their usual thing. "Hey, Ragna, can you cook?"

"Why the sudden interest?" Asked Ragna.

"Just curious." Said Kinana. "No one hear can cook, so I thought that maybe you could."

"Well, actually yeah." Said Ragna. "I can cook a pretty good meal if I wanted to. Why? Thinking of taking a break?"

"Yup." Said Kinana. "Macao has been telling me to take a break every now and then. Overworking can be dangerous. So, can you…"

"*Sighs*Sure, I'll cook while you take a break." Said Ragna. "That cool?"

"Thank you!" Said Kinana with a smile. She then began to tell him where all the cooking equipment was.

* * *

 **Few hours later**

* * *

"Hot damn! This is great. Even better than Kinana's!" Yelled Macao as he ate the chow that Ragna made. Kinana, though a bit offended by the remark, couldn't help but agree as she ate Ragna's cooked meal.

"Damn! Both a great fighter and cook! We really got a keeper!" Yelled Wakaba as he chowed down.

"This meal is inspiring me to make a dance of how fortunate we are!" Yelled Vijeeter, somehow dancing while eating.

"Guys, seriously, I ain't that good." Said Ragna, downplaying his cooking skills.

"No, this is truly as good as they say." Said Droy while crying tears of joy. "Now, I don't need to dream of eating at a five-star restaurant. We got a chef that make stuff like that." Chuckling in amusement, Ragna went to the request board and saw a letter that was addressed to him. Curious, he opened it and saw that it was from Mermaid Heel. He then read the letter and saw that Kagura wanted to meet him about a job. Deciding to indulge her, Ragna then told Macao of where he's going and who sent for him, which resulted in him grinning.

"Wow!" Said Macao with a grin. "Got the ace of Mermaid Heel asking for you personally. You got a great score kid."

"Seriously?" Said Ragna, annoyed. "It isn't like that." He then removed his apron before grabbing his sword and leaving for Mermaid Heel. While on the road he couldn't help, but wonder why Kagura was asking for him.

* * *

 **Later**

 **Mermaid Heel Guild**

* * *

Upon entering Mermaid Heel, Ragna went over to the bar and waited for Kagura. Sure enough, she arrived shortly after and sat next to him.

"Thank you for coming over at short notice." Said Kagura before ordering a glass of water.

"No problem." Said Ragna. "Now, what's the problem."

"Nothing much." Said Kagura. "I wanted pass along a thank you from that job you did for us. She was grateful for what you did, even if it was boring."

"No biggie." Said Ragna. "Anything else?"

"Yes." Said Kagura. "You see, I need your help again. This time it's a guard mission. I need your assistance on the matter."

"Really? How come?" Asked Ragna as he watched Kagura look slightly uncomfortable.

"The client is having a fancy ball and he recently uncovered a planned assassination attempt on his family. The ball his too important to cancel, so he asked us to guard them while it's being done. Unfortunately, the ball requires all participants to have a partner of the opposite sex to attend. My teammates all have one already, but…"

"You don't have one." Finished Ragna, which Kagura nodded in confirmation. "And you can't ask a random guy because they'll be in risk at being in the crossfire." She nodded again. "Okay, but why me?"

" ***Sighs*** I don't have any friends beyond my own guild. Though it certainly has its perks, being in an all-female guild can be detrimental to anyone doing a job like this. And I rather not go with an unsatisfactory male or someone I don't trust or know. You, on the other hand, seem to be a self-restrained man, you can handle yourself in a fight, and you're starting to gain my trust. So, will you take me to this ball?"

"I get paid for this?" Asked Ragna, not really caring about the payment.

"Of course." Said Kagura with a nod. "It wouldn't be fair if you weren't paid for this."

"Well, as long as it doesn't involve dancing or wearing formal wear." Said Ragna.

"Then you're in luck." Said Kagura. "We aren't required to."

"Then I'm in." Said Ragna. "Besides, not like I have a choice to say no. Guild still in debt. Not as much as before, but just enough to warrant this."

"Are you sure its not to have you do something?" Asked Kagura, a bit of curiosity in her voice. Ragna just shrugged.

"Maybe." Said Ragna before shrugging.

* * *

 **Much later**

 **Client's mansion**

* * *

"When exactly is this assassination going to happen?" Asked Ragna as he drank his punch. "We've been here for several hours and nothing happened."

"Maybe we scared the assassin away?" Suggested one of Kagura's teammates, a girl with brown hair. She wore a blue dress, despite them not needing any formal wear.

"Tch. Wouldn't pay that much if that was the case." Said Ragna.

"Guys got a point." Said a woman with a rather unique hairdo for her green hair. She wore an emerald green dress that exposed her backside. "They could be simply bidding their time, making us let our guard down."

"Or maybe they ran scared when they heard that our Kagura was here along with this guy." Said a chubby girl with black hair. She wore a dark blue dress that was modest in nature.

"Kitties!" Cheered Millianna as she hugged and nuzzled the kittens that were around the ball for some reason. She wore a white dress that complimented her figure.

"Seriously." Said Ragna. "Who has cats in a fancy ball?" All he got was some shrugs from the other girls. After getting this answer, Ragna then left to go find Kagura while the others went to their dates. As he was walking, he couldn't help, but think on what he would have done back during his younger years. Back then, he would have been rude and inconsiderate to others feelings. In some ways, he still is. He's also a little more laid-back now when he was a lot more grumpy and serious back in the day. He had chalked it up to his time in the boundary with the master unit and the origin. Being alone with nothing but a girl and giant piece of metal for company really mellowed him out. Still, he was still a bit of an ass at times. Only when he was really annoyed or pissed off, though. Or when he feels like it, which isn't a lot. Eventually, he found Kagura, keeping an eye on the client and his family, wearing her usual outfit, which made his smirk. Guess he wasn't the only one that hated formal wear.

"Anything wrong on your end?" Asked Kagura upon seeing Ragna.

"Nope." Said Ragna, leaning back on some railings. "I would be complaining about this boring job, but honestly, I've had so many that I'm used to it."

"Yes." Said Kagura. "I suppose having so many wizards around was too much for the assassins to handle."

"Could be waiting while our guard down, though." Said Ragna, getting serious as he looked around.

"Indeed." Agreed Kagura as she eyed the people that were close to the client's family. "Perhaps they decided to attack right after the event."

"Probably." Said Ragna. "We'll just have to be ready." Kagura just grunted in agreement. "So, who come you're in a dress like your teammates?"

"Simply put, I find them ridiculous to wear." Said Kagura. "I was born in a rather poor family so I couldn't enjoy the luxuries that most girls enjoyed."

"I see." Said Ragna. "So, I guess you don't have any dresses in your wardrobe."

"A few, actually, but I only have them because my team forced me to." Explained Kagura. "They say it was a "precaution" in case I ever get a date. Truthfully, I may never get one. Most men aren't too interested in the more serious women in the world."

"I could see that." Said Ragna, noting that this Kagura was a lot different than his, mainly she was serious all the time like his Kagura's assistant. As opposed to his, who was rather laid-back and lazy. Before they could continue, Ragna spotted some people going near the client's son. Nudging Kagura, he pointed to the disturbance. Seeing this, she motioned him to stay here while she went to investigate. As she got near the son, Ragna couldn't help but look around, in case this was just a diversion. After doing so, he silently watched as Kagura meet up with the son and guarded him, intently. Seeing the wizard, the people going after the son backed off and mingled with the guests. Narrowing his eyes, Ragna spotted one of them casually, but surely, making their way to the client's wife. Not willing to take a chance, Ragna marched down to the person. Upon nearing the person, a young man, he gently tapped on the person.

"Excuse me, sir." Said Ragna. He used to saying sir and ma'am due to the numerous times he had to be polite to the clients. The first few times he'd been disrespectful resulted in a deduction in pay, not a lot, but it was enough for him to begrudgingly refer to strangers, especially clients, with respect, no matter how much he thought they needed to earn it. "But I have a question."

"What is it?" Asked the man, trying to act calm.

"You look a lot like a friend of mine." Said Ragna as he looked up and down at the man. "Are you related to a Tim Marton?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who that is." Said the man, now relaxed.

"Huh. Sorry about that." Said the Ragna before leaving. As soon as he left, the man turned around and proceeded to the client's wife, hand in a pocket. He was two feet away when he pulled out a knife. He was about to stab her when suddenly a hand grabbed it and pulled the knife from his grasp. The man turned around and saw Ragna looking at him with a bored expression.

"Seriously?" Asked Ragna, incredulously. "You guys pull off a rookie move like that?" He then forced the man's arms behind him before slamming him into the wall. Seeing this, Kagura then ordered everyone to remain calm. Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other plans, as other people were drawing out weapons, taking potshots at the client and his family or charging at them, which caused people to scream and scatter. After knocking out his prisoner, Ragna rushed to a man with a magic gun, knocking him down before punching his lights out. The others, meanwhile, were already engaged, having been near the client should anything happen to them. The lady with the weird hairdo was encasing people with webs with Millianna. The other two were knocking people out with their magic, either through charging at them at high speeds or using…vegetables?

 **"I really need a good book on magic."** Thought Ragna as he watched the one called Beth take some punks out with a giant carrot. "Cause this stuff is just plain weird." He then knocked out a girl that was trying to sneak up behind him with a knife, taking her out with a single fist to the face. Just when the fact seemed to end, the leader, at least they assumed to be, got up on a table and began throwing fireballs at the family, who were taking cover behind a statue. Seeing this, Ragna, the closet to the family, rushed in front of them before raising the arm that was his Azure Grimoire. Just before the first fireball hit, a barrier erupted in front of Ragna, shielding him and the family from the fireballs as they rained on them. After the last one hit, Ragna deactivated the barrier, just in time to see Kagura knock the leader out with a hit to the head from her sword. Satisfied, Kagura looked at Ragna before bowing in respect, obviously impressed with him.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

"I truly can't thank you enough." Said the client as the local law enforcement was taking the would-be assassins away. "They would have killed me and my family for sure."

"It isn't a problem, sir." Said Kagura, standing with Ragna and her team.

"Yeah, they were easy to take." Said Beth. Everyone nodded at that, even Ragna.

"As promised, here is your reward." Said the client before snapping his fingers, which was the signal for a servant to bring out a chest full of jewels.

"You know who wanted you dead?" Asked Millianna as the girls discussed on how much there was in the chest, doing the math, and how much they should give to Ragna.

"Rest assured. I'm fully committed to figuring that out, though I have my suspicions." Said the client. "Thank you again. I hope to see you all again." With that the man left, leaving the group to figure out how to divide the reward. After some calculations, the groups decided to give Ragna a fifth of the reward, thinking it was reasonable, which he actually agreed, seeing that Fairy Tail was not in debt as it used to be. He was about to leave with his agreed upon money when Millianna stoped him.

"Wait! You didn't want to dance with Kagura?" Asked Milliana. This question caused Kagura to widen her eyes in surprise and also casuing Ragna to looked back.

"I was just here so Kagura has the required date. We're just friends, anyway." Said Ragna.

"Oh, c'mon. Just one small dance." Said Beth. "We won't tell."

"Yeah, c'mon, Kagura." Said Risley, the chubby girl, patting Kagura on the back. "He's not bad for a guy. And he looks to be your type."

"It would be a shame for both of you to be the only ones to not dance." Said the woman with the weird hair do. Sighing to herself, knowing they won't stop, Kagura relented.

"They won't stop until we do so, Ragna." Said Kagura as she walked to him.

 **"*Sighs in irritation*** Well, it's just a dance." Said Ragna before grabbing Kagura's extended hand. They then began to dance, much to the other's delight.

"You're…adequate." Said Kagura, trying to ignore Ragna constantly stepping on her feet.

"Sorry, never did stuff like this." Said Ragna, "Besides, I could say the same to you." He then grunted when Kagura stepped on his feet.

"Point taken." Said Kagura. "But…I rather like this. Care to keep doing this for a few more minutes?"

"Eh, got nothing better to do today." Said Ragna as the two danced with the others watching contently.

* * *

 **Two weeks later**

 **Lamia scale**

* * *

"So, you're the new fairy?" Asked a young girl with pink hair as she eyed Ragna with curiosity.

"Yup." Said Ragna as he waited for Jura, who asked him to visit Lamia Scale so he can tell him to the current situation is regarding Tenrou island.

"Intriguing." Said an ice wizard called Lyon. "You're older than what I thought. Though you're not as handsome as me."

"You're really asking me to punch you." Said Ragna with annoyance. Upon seeing the smug look on the ice-wizard, which came with constant insults and arrogant remarks, he instantly wanted to punch this guy's lights out.

"Like you can beat me." Said Lyon with a smirk.

"Oh, I can." Said Ragna. Fortunately, for Lyon, Jura came and took Ragna away from the two wizards.

"Sorry about, Lyon. He may be arrogant and self-righteous, but he's still a good man that's willing to help others."

"Yeah, I know that type of people." Said Ragna, remembering his brother and Tsubaki, a friend of Noel. "So, what's the situation about Tenrou Island?" Jura just let out a large smile.

"You're not going to believe this, but a large spike in magic power had just erupted where it used to be." Said Jura.

"You mean that the island is back?" Asked Ragna with surprise.

"Perhaps." Said Jura as he stroked his beard.

"Then I guess I'll tell the guild about this." Said Ragna.

"Yes, but I'm afraid that another guild is currently going over there now and they'll likely get there before you." Said Jura. "Besides, I wanted to do something for you. For all the hard work you did for Fairy Tail." He then left before coming back with a large bag. "This bag contains many potions that can strengthen you in a variety of ways along with rare sweets. Both are rather expensive."

"You didn't need to do that." Said Ragna as he grabbed the offered bag.

"But I must." Said Jura with a chuckle. "Lyon and some of his friends did the same, they were all grateful for all your actions that they helped with the payment of all these. So please, accept them." Ragna just let out a sigh before nodding his head.

"Might as well offer some of them to the guild. They could use some of them." Said Ragna. Jura let out a proud smile before bowing.

"Good luck and have a good life." Said Jura as he watched Ragna left. As he walked back to the train station, he couldn't help but wonder who these main fairies were really like.

* * *

 **Tenrou Island**

* * *

"GAH! Will you guys shut up and let me sleep!" Yelled a certain pink-haired dragon-slayer. He soon received a tackle from Droy, Jet, and Max.

"NATSU!" Yelled the three as they tackled the pinkette.

* * *

 **Back to Ragna**

* * *

"Eh, probably like Kinana described them to be." Said Ragna as he got on the train.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

"Seriously! We've been gone for seven years!?" Yelled a buff, rough-looking man with red eyes and studs along his arms and where his eyebrows should be, if he had any. This man was Gajeel, the iron-dragon slayer.

"Yup. A lot has changed since you guys were gone." Said Max as he rubbed his head.

"Yeah. For one, Droy can now be used as a beach ball." Snickered a blue cat named Happy. Droy, upon hearing that, lowered his head in shame. A petite girl with blue hair and kind brown eyes soon began to comfort him. This girl was named Levy.

"Seriously, though. I'm glad that we're alive and all, but seven years? What happened to the guild?" Asked a buck-naked teenager with black hair and eyes. The nudist was known as Gray. He was currently being looked at by a blue-haired girl called Juvia, who was staring obsessively at his manly chest.

"It went downhill after you guys vanished." Said Alzack, deciding to break the truth while they were on their way to Magnolia. "People began to question our strength, which amplified after a lot of failed missions. People began to leave the guild, needing to find better work. Eventually, people began to not take chances with us until only a few people kept sending requests to us. We were forced to abandon our old guild hall and live in a run-down building on a cliff, overlooking Magnolia." Everyone was shocked at this revelation. They didn't expect things to be that bad.

"People call us wimpy fail now along with other less flattering names." Said Jet, earning some frowns and looks of anger from the recently-freed fairies.

"You all deserve respect and admiration for your efforts to keep the guild alive." Said a scarlet-haired beauty called Erza. "How many are left?"

"Aside from us, Laki, Kinana, Reedus, Nab, Wakaba, Vijeeter, and Macao are left. Said Bisca. "Along with a new guy."

"New guy?" Asked a busty blond names Lucy.

"Yeah." Said Alzack with a smirk. "This guy has been single-handily bringing Fairy Tail from the bottom of the barrel." Hearing this, everyone looked at Alzack with curiosity and interest. A single person was bringing Fairy Tail's reputation back? This was something they needed to hear.

"Go on." Said Erza. "Tell us who he is."

"Well, it started a few months ago." Started Alzack. "One of our old members came with this guy with white hair. The guy asked us for membership. We were, of course, shocked by this, but we nevertheless gave him it. At first, we didn't think much of him, but that all changed when he took down a dark guild by himself." Everyone was shocked at this, which then turned to even more interest.

"He's a man!" Yelled a buff, white-haired man named Elfman, while is two sisters, Mirajane and Lisanna, were thinking about this man and how strong he was.

"Actually, he took out a bunch of them and the leader. Made the rest surrender with ease after they saw what he can do." Clarified Bisca. "But if you want a better description of his power, get this. Guy took on Jura without breaking a sweat. Didn't even take it seriously at first and he still didn't break a sweat." Everyone widened their eyes at that. Taking on a wizard saint was no easy feat. And Bisca was making it sound like he did it with no effort on his part. "Battle ended in a draw, but I got the feeling both wanted that. Also, the fact they broke the building after some attacks went wrong."

"No matter what you spin it, guy can probably go up with Erza and win." Said Jet. "Not that you're weak, Erza!" He said quickly, not wanting the woman to beat him up. Erza, however, just hummed in thought, obviously interested in battling with this new fairy. Perhaps she finally found a good rival? One that wasn't Mirajane.

"So, what's his name?" Asked Juvia, curious on this new fairy.

"Get this." Said Max. "His name is Ragna the Bloodedge. For real. We didn't believe it at first when he told us."

"Bloodedge? What kind of last name is that?" Asked Lisanna.

"A real man's name. That's what, sis." Said Elfman. "Wonder if I should change my name to something manlier." He said the last thing in a whisper.

"He also has heterochromia. Got a red and green eye." Said Alzack.

"Hetero-what?" Asked the pink-haired guy called Natsu, obviously confused.

"Heterochromia." Explained Levy. "It means he has two different eyes colors." Not bothering to explain in detail about the genetic condition to Natsu.

"…Still don't get it." Said Natsu.

"Don't let it hurt you, flame-brain." Said Gray, which ended in a fight between the two.

"Anyway, how come he isn't here?" Asked Lucy, wanting to see this new guy.

"He went to Lamia Scale after a letter was sent to him by Jura." Explained Bisca. "He should be on his way now."

"Aww, man! I wanted to brawl with him." Said Natsu.

"Same." Said Gajeel, wanting to see if this Ragna was really as tough as he was being made out to be.

"Relax, you can get to brawl with him when we're back. In the meantime, want to pass some stories?" Asked Droy. The boat ride from that point on was about passing stories of what happened to the guild after Tenrou island's disappearance and what happened on Tenrou island. Some of the stories were about Ragna and how he went on missions with Mermaid Heel and some of his solo missions. The one that caught everyone's attention is when he defended Jet and Droy from Sabertooth, the current number one guild in Fiore. They were angered with how one of the aces of Sabertooth were antagonizing the two fairies, which soon turned to admiration and respect with how Ragna defended the two. Gajeel and several others laughed when he heard that Ragna flipped the middle finger at the Sabertooth dragon slayer, something that surprised the ones belonging to Fairy Tail, after headbutting him.

"That's a man!" Proclaimed Elfman. Soon the boat landed in Hargeon town. They soon were on the road, walking to Magnolia on foot. As they were walking in the streets of Magnolia, they were getting fingers pointed at them from whispering groups of people.

"They're alive?"

"Is this a dream?"

"Geez, Fairy Tail is really going to make a comeback now."

"Wonder if that Ragna fellow can beat Erza and Laxus."

"This is actually mellow than what I envisioned." Said Max as he walked with everyone to the new guild hall.

"Really, because I envisioned this." Said Warren. Eventually, they all made it to the guild hall, which erupted into cheers from the remaining members. Romeo was so happy to see them that he began to cry. Eventually a celebration began to happen with the non-Tenrou island showing what they had learned during the seven years. This went on and on until the doors opened, revealing the man everyone from Tenrou island was interested in meeting.

"I'm back." Said Ragna. He was about to say more when he saw the Tenrou island crew. "I assume these are these are the guys from Tenrou island?"

"Fight me!" Yelled Natsu, charging at Ragna. He simply scoffed before slamming his free fist on Natsu's head, knocking him out.

"This guy is Natsu, I'm guessing?" Asked Ragna, looking at everyone. Gray was trying to stifle his laughter along with Gajeel while everyone else was looking at him in shock, not used to seeing anyone taking Natsu out in one hit other than Erza, Makarov, Gildarts, or Laxus. Laxus, meanwhile, was a bit perturbed to hear that this guy sounded like him, but shrugged it off, too amused at seeing Natsu being taken down with ease. Lucy and Happy rushed to their friend, wanting to see if he was alright. Sighing to himself, he walked over to Kinana, gave her the bag while telling her what's in it, before grabbing a seat and sitting on it. Eventually, he was approached by Erza herself.

"I assume your Ragna?" Asked Erza, sarcastically as she looked at Ragna.

"Yup. Erza, right?" Asked Ragna. Seeing her nod, he went on. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you. How was Tenrou island?"

After recalling all the events that happened there, she simply shrugged. "It was…eventful to say the least." Said Erza. She then smiled. "I want to thank you for all you done for the guild. It's nice to know that someone is willing to help us during our guild's time of need."

"It's no big deal." Said Ragna. "Just did a few boring jobs here and there. Few really exciting jobs." This caused her to chuckle, amused. The two were about to converse more when he was suddenly bombarded with the others from Tenrou island, wanting to get to know him more. Eventually, he cracked and began to spew out so much language that even a bad-mouthed sailor would blush.

" ***Pants*** Are you all done?" Asked Ragna as everyone stared, wide-eyed at his mouth.

"Geez. Sailor-mouth, much?" Asked Lucy, placing her hands on her hips.

"Only when I get real pissed." Said Ragna, finally calmed down. He then spotted a little girl with dark blue hair, blushing madly as her cat glared at him, obviously pissed at his language. Feeling some regret, he walked over to the girl and knelled down to her. "Sorry about that, didn't see you there."

"I-it's okay. I'm used to hearing stuff like that." Said the girl with a kind smile. Instantly reminding him of Noel and her innocence.

"Oh." Said Ragna, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yup. Gajeel would often get in trouble for his mouth." Said the girl. "Names Wendy, by the way."

"Well, Wendy, how about some treats from me?" Offered Ragna, before going to Kinana, who held out the bag to him. He then brought out some candies and gave some to Wendy, who bowed her head in thanks before accepting the candies. Sighing to himself, he walked over to the bar and began to order a soda, thinking he needed the sugar. Eventually, the floor began to erupt in cheers and conversations, which also consisted of people talking to Ragna questions and stuff, much to his annoyance. As the commotion died down, Ragna began to talk with Kinana.

"You think things will get better now?" Asked Ragna.

"Much." Said Kinana with a smile. "Hope you don't mind sharing the spotlight with people."

"I don't mind. I rather would welcome it, rather not have the spotlight." Said Ragna, causing Kinana to giggle.

"Your funny sometime, Ragna. You know that?" Said Kinana.

"I wasn't trying to be funny." Said Ragna. The two then began to go on their business.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

* * *

Noel struggled in her sleep. She couldn't understand it. She's been having these dreams for the past few days. Her being trapped in her own body, wearing some strange, revealing battle armor, doing stuff she would never do. Killing her parents and friends. Plus, destroying the world. She tried to fight it, to stop her from doing these things, but couldn't do anything but watch as she did these things. It was only when a mysterious light appeared and attack her, did she stop. She could have sworn that the light was saying something, but she couldn't hear it, it was far too disoriented for her to hear. But lately, she was beginning to hear what the light was saying more and more until eventually she discerned most of the words. The light said that she was Noel Vermillion and that he, based on the gruff voice, to save her while also apologizing to her about hurting her, which it did after the light attacked her, saving her in the process. Eventually the dream would end when Noel would grab the light and tell it that it was an idiot over and over again.

Today, the light was faded to the point that it was just a frame of a man with spikey hair and a giant sword that she could have sworn that she remembered from somewhere. That and the frame looked painfully familiar as well. The two fought with each other until the figure spoke.

"What the hell were you thinking going down to that level?! Kusanagi!? The god-killing sword!? Screw all of that! You're Noel Vermillion aren't you!?" Yelled the figure. He then spoke again. "Invert Idea Engine connection!" She then heard some noise and a gasp of shock. "This is going to hurt a lot, Noel, but it needs to be done."

Noel then launched, unwillingly, some drones, which then began to fire at the figure, who blocked them with ease. He then sheathed his sword before launching himself at her. A laser was fired at him, hitting in the chest, but he kept coming with his hand extended, which then latched on to her face.

"Wake the hell up! You idiot!" Yelled the figure before a bright light blinded Noel. **"*Sighs*** The things I do for you." Her vision then cleared away upon that statement. She saw, to her horror, the figure had lost the arm that grabbed her face. She then held on to the figure as she questioned why he did this, which he replied that it was alright, joking that he can do with one arm. She then screamed at him before telling him he was an idiot, over and over again. As she was holding him, the final amount of light was gone to reveal a white-haired man with a green and red eye. He wore a red jacket with a black shirt and hakama. Noel could have sworn that she saw this man before in her life. No…was acquainted with. Before she could try and remember, the dream ended and Noel woke up. As she rubbed her head, she racked her brain on this man, whose identity was a mystery to her. She didn't know why, but she felt that she knew this man. That he was special to her. Sighing to herself, she got up and dressed in her usual nun uniform. As she walked out of her room, she made a silent vow to find out who this man his. Eventually she found Lambda, silently brooding to herself.

"What's wrong, Lambda?" Asked Noel, curious. Upon her sitting down, Lambda spoke.

"Lambda had a dream." Said Lambda. "She was dying. Cause was due to a piercing weapon being placed in her abdomen. Wounds were fatal." Upon seeing Noel's concerned face, she continued. "Lambda was being held by a man. Man was white-haired and was heterochronic." Widening her eyes, Noel asked a question.

"Did this man have spikey hair and had red and green eyes. Did he also have a red jacket?" Asked Noel. Lambda looked surprised before nodding her heads. Gasping in shock, Noel remembered the man from her dream. Did she and Lambda meet the same man in their lives? If so, then did Nu too? "Do you know his name?" To her disappointment, Lambda just shook her head. Now more than ever to figure out this man, Noel look at Lambda seriously. "We need to find out who this man is. I think that he's the key to Nu's recovery." Wanting to figure out who this man is and curing her sister, Lambda nodding earnestly. The two then went on with their usual duties in a church. Though they did so half-heartedly as they were too distracted with the man from their dreams.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **J0K3R Of Monday- Yeah the meet up was short, I'll admit. I'll try and make it up with more longer conversations and chats with Ragna and the Fairy Tail characters.**

 **Mystech Master- I have to agree with Wlyman2009. Sure, a lot of them were...well jerks to Ragna, but not all of them were bad as you say. But each to their own opinions, I say.**

 **zooguy99-Yes. A harem with Ragna.**

 **Anyway, I apologize if this chapter feels a bit rushed in an attempt to get to the GMG arc. Sorry, but I honestly don't have anything that I can use to delay the GMG arc any longer. Plus, the anime filler arc, while entertaining in some areas, didn't really entice me enough to really put it in here. I might bring some characters from that arc, though.**

* * *

"Fight me!" Yelled Natsu as he hovered near Ragna, who was trying to enjoy his breakfast.

"For the twelfth time, no." Said Ragna as he ate his food.

"C'mon." Whined Natsu as he looked at the man. "You barely fought against me."

"More like I knocked you out in one hit." Said Ragna before finishing his food. "And do you seriously want to fight everyone that's stronger than you?"

"Heck yeah!" Yelled Natsu as he got ready to fight the man. "C'mon, just one go."

" ***Groans*** Hey, blond girl!" Yelled Ragna, not wanting to deal with this kid now. "Deal with your boyfriend!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Yelled Lucy while blushing. She then started to drag Natsu away, who was whining at this, while Ragna got up and went to where the former master, Makarov, was speaking with Macao, the current master.

"So, we're a bit in debt, eh?" Asked Makarov as he conversed with Macao.

"Yeah, but it'll be over soon." Said Macao.

"Hmm…perhaps I can have it end earlier." Said Makarov before getting up and leaving with Mirajane and Erza. Macao, knowing what he meant by that, just sighed and began to drink his beer, already knowing it was pointless to stop them.

"So, where are they going?" Asked Ragna as he watched the three leave.

"Just going over to Twilight Ogre for a talk." Said Macao.

"And by talk, I'm assuming to beat them all up." Said Ragna. Having heard about Erza's reputation, he could only guess that was the likely scenario.

"Yup. About all the abuse and debt we suffered from Twilight Ogre." Said Macao. Ragna raised an eyebrow at that.

"The abuse I get, but the debt thing is a little over the top." Said Ragna.

"I know, but they're mostly mad about the abuse." Said Macao. "The debt they understand." Ragna just nodded before leaving. As he walked around, he noticed that Romeo seemed a bit more excited than usual. Raising in eyebrow, Ragna just shrugged before venturing to the request board. Once there, he was immediately converged on by Droy, Jet, and their old teammate. Levy, if memory severed him right.

"What do you guys want?" Asked Ragna as he observed the requests on the board. Levy just smiled.

"Well, Jet and Droy wanted to go on a job with you. So, would you mind working with them?" Asked Levy with a kind smile. Ragna just rose an eyebrow before shrugging and taking a relatively easy job.

"This should be challenging enough for you guys. We just need to take out a monster nest." Said Ragna. "You guys alright with that?"

"Just depends on the monster." Said Droy, a bit nervous on the type of monster.

"Well, the pay is kind of low. Must mean that the monsters are easy." Said Ragna as he held out the piece of parchment, allowing Levy to examine it.

"I have to agree with Ragna." Said Levy. "This should be challenging enough for you guys without being to overbearing." She then looked over to her teammates and smiled. "I'm quite happy that you guys are finally going on a mission without me tagging along. I'm rooting for you guys." The two men just smiled at that.

"We'll make you proud, Levy!" Exclaimed Droy before the two grabbed Ragna and marched out of the guild hall, singing aloud how wonderful Levy was. Ragna, after wrestling out of their grip, just sighed and tried to block out their singing.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

"So, Droy, can those seeds of yours be able to do something useful in a fight?" Asked Ragna as the three men observed the nest of large killer bugs. Having only seen them used for lifting or for sustenance, Ragna was a bit skeptical of the usefulness Droy's magic had in a fight.

"Oh yeah." Said Droy. "These monsters won't know what hit them." Ragna just rose an eyebrow at the rare display of courage Droy was showing. He normally was a bit nervous when fighting something so big. And given how scary-looking the wasp-like creatures were, with their big red eyes and large stinger, this was a surprise to Ragna.

"Problem is that there's too many of them." Said Jet as he observed the nest. "Got to be at least forty, maybe fifty, drones here. We might have to focus on the queen."

"Yeah." Said Ragna as he looked around for the queen. "Any idea what the queen looks like?"

"For these dread wasps, the queen is usually the biggest with another pair of wings to keep her steady." Explained Droy. "Also got an escort of the toughest bugs in the entire nest, so she shouldn't be hard to spot."

"Alright then." Said Ragna before getting up. "I'll try and take out the queen, can I trust you guys for back up and distracting the hive?" Droy just smiled.

"Oh yeah." Said Droy before pulling out some seeds. "I got the perfect idea for a distraction." He then threw a bunch of seeds at the highest concentration of wasps. Once they hit the ground, flowers of various types emerged from the seeds, catching the interests of the wasps. As they converged on the plants with interest, Ragna looked at Droy.

"This is why you're so confident?" Asked Ragna as he got ready to launch a projectile on the wasps. Jet just stayed behind Droy and Jet as the two launched projectiles at the wasps, one a head of a monster and the other threw seeds. The head managed to grab several wasps with its mouth while slicing apart several when it went through them. It then slammed its jaws together, eating the wasps and transferring their life energy to Ragna. The seeds, meanwhile, grew into fists and squashed most of the surviving wasps. The ones that survived then saw the three wizards and charged at them with the wasps that weren't distracted with the flower trick. Ragna just scoffed before charging at the swarm of wasps. Jet just groaned, believing he was going to regret this, before charging in as well, using his magic to greatly increasing his speed. Droy, meanwhile, was rushing toward the cave that the wasps were using as their nest in order to plant seeds as a trap. As Ragna slashed and hacked the wasps into pieces, Jet was trying his best to punch the wasps while also avoiding their stingers. So far, he was doing alright as he was quickly out of harms way before the wasps knew where he was. Ragna took a few stings, but they didn't bother him at all, nor the poison, as they were constantly being destroyed by his drive's ability to heal him with his opponent's own life force. That and the poison wasn't really that strong. After killing a handful more wasps with a wave of dark energy, Ragna looked to see Jet finishing the last one with a kick to the face, resulting in the face being caved in due to the force being augmented with the momentum of Jet's speed.

"Gross." Complain Jet as he pulled his foot out and shaking it.

"These things are easy to kill." Said Ragna as he looked at Jet wiping the blood off of his foot. "No wonder the reward is so little." Before Jet could comment, Droy yelled out at them. When they turned around, they saw Droy fending off a dozen wasps, that were bigger than the ones that they just fought off, with a bunch of his plants. One was a lot bigger than the others and had a second pair of wings. "Must be the queen." Said Ragna before charging with Jet. When they got there, the wasps had fought off the last of Droy's plants before charging at Droy, who was getting out new seeds. Before the wasps can attack, Jet managed to tackle Droy out of the way to allow Ragna to fire a wave of dark energy at the wasps, taking out a few. He then jumped and slashed apart several more with his sword in scythe-form. Just when the wasps were about to attack him, Droy managed to grab several seeds and throw them to the ground, allowing another batch of fists to emerge and pummel the wasps to the ground. Jet, sensing this opportunity, rushed toward them just as the fists were done attacking and landed a kick at the queen's right eye, destroying it. As she screamed in pain, Ragna launched into the air and launched himself with his sword being pointed at the queen's head. The sword penetrated her carapace and went through her brain. As he landed, Ragna pulled off his sword and slashed around, killing the remaining guards. After walking away from the carnage, Ragna was immediately swarmed by Jet and Droy, who patted him on the back. Rolling his eyes, Ragna just accepted the praise he got from them as they made their way back. As they were walking back, Ragna congratulated them on their part in the battle.

"Ah, thanks." Said Droy. "But you did all the work. We just helped a bit."

"Yeah, but you guys did pretty well out there." Said Ragna, trying to make them feel better. "Especially with the magic you guys got. Not many people I know that will use impractical tools for battle."

" ***Chuckles*** Yeah." Said Jet with a smile. "Levy will be so proud of us."

"Speaking of her, why isn't she here with us on this job?" Asked Ragna.

"Well, we wanted to go together, but she had to deal with some rent troubles, so we had to go without her." Explained Droy. "Man, I feel sorry for her and the others. So much money has to go to rent." Ragna didn't know the exact rent cost for where the girls of Fairy Tail live, but he knew that it was pretty expensive. That and combined of seven years of absence, must have really piled up.

"Think she can pay it all back and still live there?" Asked Ragna as they went to their client.

"Probably." Said Jet. "The owner is the father of a former Fairy Tail member, so he'll probably cut them a break. We would have helped her with the rent problem, but she insisted on doing it herself."

"Yeah, she's awesome like that." Said Droy. "She'll be able to pay it back in no time."

"Yeah." Said Ragna with a raised eyebrow, a bit skeptical at that statement. "Anyway, she asked about me or something? Heard that she was that type of woman."

"Oh yeah." Said Jet. "Wanted to know all about your personality, strengths, etc. Was disappointed that she couldn't join with us. Maybe next time?"

"Sure." Said Ragna. "Another combat mission? You guys seem up for it."

"Of course." Said Droy. "So long as it's something easy."

"Or something that you can easily distract with your seeds." Said Jet, dryly. The two then went into an argument while Ragna just scoffed in amusement.

* * *

 **Tomorrow**

 **Ragna's apartment**

* * *

Ragna just starred at the ceiling of his apartment room as he dwelled into memories about his old world. Compared to his old world, this new world was a paradise. No corrupt government. No jackasses trying to ruin him or other lives constantly. And best of all, no one was trying to kill him just for existing. Here, he didn't have to worry about someone trying to kill or arrest him constantly. He'd just have to worry about money and a basic lifestyle. Truth be told, he kind of wished he was born here instead of there. But…a part of him knew that wasn't true. Despite all the pain and misery, he'd gotten from his world, he still found people worth protecting and fighting for. Celica was one and was a pretty obvious reason as she was one of the few people that didn't berate, insult, or try to kill him. Instead, she tried to help and comfort him whenever possible. Noel and her (technically, I guess) sisters were another. Despite Nu wanting to kill/be with him in her crazy and weird way, he still wanted to save her. Even if she stabbed him multiple times in the past. Lambda, despite knowing her for a limited time, seemed to be nice enough person. Noel, despite calling her an idiot multiple times, was one of the few people that he knew with certainty that didn't want him dead while also not insulting him constantly. Heck even his brother, despite them having a rocky relationship at best, was someone that he loved and cared for still. Them, along with Jubei, Tao, Rachel, and probably a few more were something that he missed about his old world. He missed them all and hoped that they were all doing well. Thoughts going back to Noel, he wondered if she was going well.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

* * *

Noel couldn't help, but groan as she tried to remember the white-haired man in her dreams. Maybe she should try and drink some of that memory tea she heard from the market.

* * *

 **Back to Ragna**

* * *

"Probably doing well enough." Said Ragna before getting up and marching to the guild. Upon arriving to the guild, he heard everyone cheering in the guild. Raising an eyebrow, he walked inside and found everyone making plans about training. Sighing in both irritation and wonder, Ragna walked over to Macao, who was groaning to himself along with a few others. "What's going on?"

" ***Sighs in irritation** * Makarov is making us all participate in the Grand Magic Games this year." Explained Macao. "Despite my protests, along with a few others, we're going along with it." Ragna just nodded in understanding, he heard about the Grand Magic Games. A tournament designed to determine the most powerful guild in Fiore. He also heard that Fairy Tail had joined in previous years, but always went in last, which was just sad. He supposed this was the reason everyone from Tenrou island was cheering. They were planning to join this year's tournament. He supposed that they had a pretty good chance with them and him around, but he wouldn't get cocky. He had heard from Bisca that some challenges weren't about fighting and that they could be the key to winning the whole thing.

"What do you think about all this, Macao?" Asked Ragna as he watched the Tenrou team cheer.

"Well, got no choice, but to go along with this crazy adventure." Said Macao before sighing. "Who knows, we might get something higher than last this time."

"No faith in them?" Asked Ragna.

"No really." Said Macao. "Just being realistic. Most of their former guild rivals have gotten a lot stronger since they last meet and so did the other guilds."

"So, we're talking about a strength and experience disadvantage." Said Ragna.

"Exactly." Said Macao. "They might actually lose to those that they could have easily won against before."

"Well, might as well hope for the best." Said Ragna. "Think I can make a dent?"

"With you, I'm sure." Said Macao. "I'm just worried about everyone else."

"Well…when's the tournament going to start?" Asked Ragna.

"About three months." Said Macao. "Enough time to catch up, I guess."

"Well, better hope for the best, then." Said Ragna as he crossed his arms. "Cause we're going to participate."

"Indeed." Said Macao.

* * *

 **Later**

 **Beach**

* * *

"You got to me kidding me." Said Ragna as he watched team Natsu and Shadowgear were playing in the beach. They were supposed to be training. Yet, everyone was out playing around instead of actually training. "Knew something was up when I saw them packing their beach clothes." Ragna just sighed to himself as he practiced his moves and his sword slashes. His move set, centered around the idea of rushing toward his opponent and dealing as much damage as possible without giving them a chance to fight back, could always be improved upon. Much as he was confident in his skills and abilities, a little training couldn't hurt. That and the fact that he had three months before the games. Plenty of time to both relax and train. He was also trying to see if he could fight without the Azure Grimoire. Much as it was integral in his fighting style, he knew that it only took things away instead of protecting. So, he tried his best to try and use his own strength rather than the Azure's. Though, deep down, he knew that he had a feeling that he'll have to confront the idea of trying to make it fit in his want in protecting people. Just as he was practicing a combo, he heard a voice come into his head.

"Well…maybe you can change the Grimoire's purpose." Said Noel as an image of her came into his mind. Distracted, he lost his concentration and immediately hit a tree. Swearing in annoyance, Ragna slashed the tree down before sitting down, rubbing his forehead. Sighing to himself, he thought about those words from Noel. He remembered the night when she uttered them. It was the night before he went back in time.

* * *

 **Sometime ago**

* * *

Ragna was sighing to himself as he watched the moon. After going back to his room after his argument with Jin, he soon found himself unable to sleep. So, he decided to go outside and take a breath of fresh air. As he was taking in the peaceful moment, he heard some noise and sighed to himself.

"Come on out. I know you're there." Said Ragna before turning around. To his surprise, he saw Noel coming out and walking up to him. "Thought you were asleep."

"Couldn't sleep." Said Noel. "Same thing?"

"Yup." Said Ragna as he stood. "Something on your mind?"

"Yeah." Said Noel. "When I was going back to my room with Makoto, I heard about what happened in the coliseum. Something about you losing control of the Azure." She looked worried and nervous. "Can you tell me what happened?" Ragna just grunted before speaking.

"Might as well." Said Ragna. "Azrael showed up and thrashed the place. Had to fight him. Eventually, he attacked Celica and I lost it. I was about to unleash the Azure when I managed to get myself together and shut it down. Then Kagura took over and that's about it. Azrael got caught and you managed to get your friend back."

"Yeah." Said Noel. "But what happened exactly? You normally would have unleashed the Azure when things got desperate. So, why didn't you?" Ragna looked uncomfortable for a moment before taking a stoic face.

"Look, Noel, just drop it." Said Ragna. "Doesn't have anything to do with you."

"It does if it could have compromised my chance in saving Tsubaki!" Yelled Noel, surprising Ragna. He looked back to see her worried face. "Just please, tell me why." Seeing her pleading face, he gave in.

"Alright." Said Ragna. "Reason I didn't unleash the Azure's power was because it only meant to take, not protect. I've also been relying on it too much in my fights. So, I guess I stopped using it and just relied on my own strength." Noel just blinked before speaking.

"You used to be fine with using it before. Why the sudden change?" Asked Noel.

" ***Sighs*** I guess I finally started listening to Rachel and others. Like I said, I rely on it too much. So much so, that it's actually a weakness. What happens if I fight someone like Terumi again or someone who can overpower the Azure? I'll be a sitting duck." Said Ragna.

"So, you're going to just rely on your own strength from now on?" Asked Noel.

"Yeah." Said Ragna. "Might use it every now and then, though. Or when the situation really requires it."

"Yeah, but you also said that it's meant to take and not protect. Is that another reason?" Asked Noel.

"…Yeah." Said Ragna before showing the arm that was the Azure Grimoire. "This thing is really only meant to destroy and take things. Wasn't meant to defend or protect. It's like Jubei said, it's not my power. Never was."

"So, what are you going to do with it?" Asked Noel.

"Well it's a part of me, so I can't destroy it. Just going to live with the fact that I have something that's meant to destroy while protecting those I love." Said Ragna. Noel just frowned before thinking on the matter.

"Well…maybe you can change the Grimoire's purpose." Said Noel. Ragna just looked at her like she an idiot. "After all, I was made to destroy, right? Yet, I'm here, defending those I love and fighting those who wish to destroy this world. You helped show me that and even helped bring me back from Terumi's grip. Maybe you could do that with the Grimoire."

"That's really naïve, Noel." Said Ragna. "I don't think I can do that with it. Besides, you have the ability to think and feel. This doesn't."

"At least try, Ragna." Said Noel. "I don't want you to live with the knowledge that you have something that can only destroy and can't do anything for it." Ragna just scoffed before nodding. Might as well indulge her.

"Want to stay here for a while?" Asked Ragna as the two looked at the moon.

"Yeah." Said Noel with a smile. The two then stayed for half an hour before going back to bed.

* * *

 **Present**

* * *

Ragna just stared at his Grimoire, contemplating Noel's words. Maybe she was right. Maybe the Grimoire can be used to protect. He just had to show it how. Or she was wrong and that it was truly only meant to destroy. Either way, he'll never figure that out unless he tried. Sighing to himself, he began to train again, Noel's words in his mind. Later that night, Ragna looked at the moon from the inn he was staying with the two teams.

"Hope, you're doing fine Noel." Said Ragna. "Don't want my efforts be naught, after all." He then looked over to see the Fairy Tail wizards looking at the stars, smiling in content. Smirking, he went back to his room and slept with content.

* * *

 **The next day**

* * *

Ragna was walking to the beach for some relaxation when he saw a flash of light. Curious, he walked to it and saw Jet and Droy with shocked expressions.

"What the heck was that?" Asked Ragna as he approached the two. The two Shadowgear members looked at Ragna before explaining that one of Lucy's spirits, the pink-haired maid, had came and told them to get to the Celestial spirit world. Apparently, there was something important of grave importance happening that needed their assistance. Unfortunately, Jet and Droy were left behind for some reason. "And no one asked me to come along?" Asked Ragna, a bit annoyed at being left in the dark.

"Well, we didn't want to disturb you nap." Said Droy.

"That and the fact that she just took off with them almost immediately." Said Jet. "Guess we're just going to have to resume training."

"Or fool around." Said Ragna, remembering how much time everyone wasted yesterday, unlike him, who only took at most two hours of relaxation. "Want me to help train you guys?"

"Uhh…actually, I got an eating contest to go to." Said Droy before taking off.

"Idiot." Said Jet. "Look, I loved to do it, but I got to run." Jet then ran off, leaving a cloud of sand and dust behind. Scoffing in annoyance, Ragna just went to a nice spot in the beach and began to relax. He only stayed for half an hour before beginning his training.

* * *

 **Three months later**

* * *

Ragna was currently reading a book that he brought along when he spotted a flash of light. As soon as it was gone, the Tenrou team was back. He rose an eyebrow at seeing them with glum expressions.

"Something wrong?" Asked Ragna as Jet and Droy ran up to them. In response, Erza, Gray, and Natsu to fall to the ground in disappear, saying that everything was over. Wendy then began then cry before Lucy then yelled out to the sky.

"No way!" Yelled Lucy. "Give us back out time, mustache face!" Ragna just rose an eyebrow along with Jet and Droy.

"I'm guessing something went awry." Commented Ragna as Lucy continued yelling at the sky.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me." Said Ragna after Lucy finished explaining what happened. "You mean to tell me they just wanted you guys for a party and that, because time moves a lot faster in the Celestial world, you lost three whole months of potential training time. All for a stupid party!?"

"Sounds stupid when you say it out loud." Said Gray. The two then looked at Virgo, Lucy's maid spirit, as she punished herself. "She probably should have told us that before inviting us."

"They should have told you the real reason." Said Ragna. "You guys would have went anyway, regardless of the time difference."

"Yeah." Agreed Gray. "You're right. Course now, I would want to get back at those spirits for making us lose so much time."

"What are you guys going to do now?" Asked Ragna.

"Train!" Yelled Erza as she got up. "We still have five days left so there's still time! Prepare yourselves, because we'll be working ten times as hard!" Natsu then went up and agreed with Erza. Before the two, or anyone could protest, could ran off, a bird had landed on Erza's head. Raising an eyebrow, Ragna went up and saw a piece of paper on the bird's leg. After grabbing the paper from the bird, he then read it.

"Looks like someone is looking for you guys." Said Ragna as he finished reading the note. "They're asking you guys to meet up with them at the broken bridge at the western hills." Hearing that, everyone then went into discussion about what to do. Some wanted to ignore it, thinking it was a trap, others wanted to indulge the people, both out of curiosity or eagerness to fight. Ultimately, everyone went along with the people that wanted to go to the bridge. Ragna was with the people that didn't want to follow the instructions, but like everyone else that shared his thoughts, went along. Eventually, they spotted the broken bridge. Seeing that no one was around, a few grumbled in annoyance and disappointment and were about to head back when the bridge suddenly repaired itself. Blinking in amazement, Ragna went forward and tested the bridge. After making sure it was safe, he motioned everyone to follow. After they made it across the bridge and were walking through a forest, Ragna went back to Gray and spoke to him.

"Know this kind of magic? The books never mentioned this kind before." Said Ragna as he spoke with the nudist, who just kept a stoic face.

"Yeah. It's lost magic, which means it could only be one person." Said Gray. Before he could say anymore, Erza stopped everyone. Looking ahead, Ragna spotted a trio of people in blue cloaks coming over to them. Narrowing his eyes, Ragna went to the front and brandished his sword. Erza, not wanting to be seen as a damsel, stepped besides Ragna and, in a flash of light, one of her many swords appeared. The trio eventually stopped in front of them and removed their hoods. Upon seeing their faces, everyone from the Tenrou island incident gasped in shock. To Ragna, this meant that they knew these people. As everyone was recovering, Ragna looked at the three strangers. One was a man while the other two were females. The older of the two was a dark purple-haired beauty with red eyes. She wore a one-piece body suit with gloves and boots. The other was a pink-haired woman with red eyes. She wore a red dress that exposed her cleavage, which was complimented with black stockings and brown boots. He also noticed that she wore earmuffs. The man was blue-haired with brown eyes. He noticed with interest that he had a weird, red tattoo above and under his right eye. He wore a dark coat and some plate armor along with dark pants and boots. After everyone recovered, Erza began to speak with the strangers, albeit with tense tone. As pleasantries were added to the mix, Ragna whistled to get everyone's attention.

"Hello. Not everyone was there when you guys meet, so can someone fill me in." Said Ragna as everyone's eyes meet his. The pink-haired girl looked amused for a moment.

"Right, you never met them." Said Erza. "Ragna, these are Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear." She pointed to the respective people as she spoke their names. "Meredy and Ultear used members of a dark guild and Jellal…committed vile acts that got him arrest."

"She's right." Said Jellal. "We all committed terrible sins in our lives. Some of much are unforgiveable. That's why we all decided to form an independent guild, one that hunts down dark guilds and any that use to harm the innocent." He then went on explaining their purpose and objectives, including taking down Zeref, the black wizard. Ragna tried his best to listen in as everyone made comments here and there. Eventually, the conversation went to a request of Fairy Tail keeping an eye on the Grand Magic games. Apparently, something strange magic was sensed by them during each year of the Grand Magic games. One that was reminiscent to Zeref and his own magic. Because of the games being such a public event with so many official guilds there, they couldn't investigate themselves. In return for this job, Ultear had offered to increase their magic reserves as well as allowing them access to their second origin, some untapped reserve of magic power. With this, the wizards of Fairy Tail can use more powerful magic as well as allowing them to use magic more frequently. Such a deal was too good for the wizards, so they agreed. That and the fact that if anything reminiscent of Zeref was going on in the Grand Magic Games, then something needed to be done. Ragna just shrugged and nodded his head. As Natsu grabbed Ultear and rubbed his face on her chest, commenting that it was okay that she was pretending to be a woman, which rose an eyebrow from Ragna, the white-haired man couldn't help, but think of what this magic was.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

"Damn." Commented Ragna as he watched Natsu yelling out in pain as red markings covered his body. "Is the pain necessary?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Said Ultear as she held an orb. "It should be done soon, though." She then turned to the grim reaper. "Are you sure that you don't want this?" When asked about the offer, Ragna turned it down, saying that he didn't need it. The actual reason that it wouldn't do him any good because he didn't use magic. He got some raised eyebrows and some remarks about him being arrogant or a chicken, but he stood firm on his decision.

"Yup." Said Ragna. "Don't need it and I'm fully planning on never doing it." Ultear just rose an eyebrow at that. Crime Sorciï¿½re, her guild, had heard about him and his actions. If the rumors were true, then he was probably one of Fairy Tail's most powerful wizards. She would have thought that he would go in for the opportunity to get stronger, but here he was turning it down. A bit foolish, in her opinion, but she wasn't one to judge. "Well, if you need me, I'm going to take a walk." With that Ragna left the group.

"Wonder why he didn't take the offer." Said Lucy as she watched him leave. He was powerful, sure, but she would have thought he would have taken the power boast like them. And he didn't seem to prideful or anything like that to refuse this offer, so what was the reason. Meredy just tilted her head slightly before running up to Ragna. Upon hearing someone calling out his name, he turned to see Meredy coming up to him.

"What do you want?" Asked Ragna as Meredy stopped before him.

"Well, I wanted to see the hero of Fairy Tail up close." Said Meredy with a smile. "That and I wanted to know why you refused the offer."

"Well," Started Ragna as the two walked away from everyone. "Don't really need it. I'm strong enough to take on Sabertooth myself."

"What? Just based on that one confrontation with one of their Dragon Slayers?" Asked Meredy in amusement. She heard about that little snippet of information from some bystanders. The information might be exaggerated, but she heard that he flipped the middle finger at the Dragon Slayer.

"That asshole? Please." Said Ragna as he closed his eyes. "I can take him and his partner with ease. I faced plenty of people that outclass them."

"Really?" Asked Meredy in wonder and curiosity. "What people?" Berating himself for that comment, Ragna just played it off, saying that he traveled around and faced some tough cookies. Meredy frowned at that statement, but moved on. "You going to participate in the games?"

"Probably a guarantee." Said Ragna. "I'm one of the strongest in the guild. Though I heard that some of the events require skill and not power."

"You got it." Said Meredy with a smile. "Who knows, you might get glossed over for someone like Levy or Wendy." Ragna just donned an impassive face at that, though was a bit offended with what she said. Still, she had a point. He was pretty sure he gets dead last in a history challenge or cute challenge. "So, I got to go back." She then smiled at Ragna. "I'll be rooting for you! Good luck!" She then ran back to the others. Ragna just smirked and continued on his walk. Her bubbly personality reminded him of Makoto, a friend of Noel. They probably get along and tease others. He wondered what she was doing now.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

* * *

"Man, Lambda, you can actually cook!" Yelled a brown-haired woman with a squirrel tail as she ate along with Noel, Lambda, and a red-haired woman. Though the two nuns were a bit disheartened, the two were happy that their friends were here with them.

* * *

 **Back to Ragna**

* * *

"Tch. Probably being her usual self." Said Ragna before walking to a cliff.

* * *

 **The next day**

 **Fairy Tail guild**

* * *

"You guys think that payed off?" Asked Ragna as Makarov was contemplating on how to pick for the team that will be representing Fairy Tail.

"Oh yeah!" Said Natsu. "After all that pain, I can feel myself being stronger than ever." Lucy was a bit skeptical, however.

"I guess I can feel my magic power being stronger, but everything else feels so weak." Said Lucy as she rubbed her neck.

"Only time will tell." Said Gray as he looked at the master. "Better shush up. Master looks like he decided."

"Alright." Said Makarov, getting everyone's attention. "Since the teams can only be five-men with reserves from anyone in the guild, I'll only be picking those that be on the team." He then closed his eyes before revealing who will be on the team. "Natsu, Erza, and Gray will take three of the spots. The remaining two will be filled by Wendy and Ragna." Upon hearing her name, Wendy widened her eyes and immediately rushed to the master, protesting his decision. Ragna just sighed as Erza comforted Wendy about the decision.

" **Guess I shouldn't be surprised."** Thought Ragna as he watched Wendy cheer up. "So, you guys ready to take first place?"

"Oh heck yeah!" Yelled Natsu. "We're going to go right through those other guilds!" Everyone then cheered on as they all got ready for the trip to Crocus, where the Grand Magic games will take place in.

* * *

 **I'm probably going to get so much flack from Fairy Tail fans, especially Lucy fan boys from this decision. In order to defend myself, while Lucy is a great support wizard and character, I find her to be on the lower end when it comes of pure skill and power. Really, all you need to do is take away her keys and you have her. Wendy, on the other hand, can heal and fight herself, more so than Lucy. Hence why she's allowed to remain instead of Lucy. And besides, she can always be chosen to take someone's spot should they be incapacitated or the like. Also the Noel scene with Ragna is my own creation. It didn't happen in canon.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **The Stars OverHeaven- Well the ones that he would be in, anyway. And unless someone makes him not compete.**

 **Mystech Master- Yup, it would be. Personally I think his mechanical one looks like a normal arm on the outside, but mechanical on the inside. Like a terminator. I'll go with that.**

 **Gerard Sta Maria Terumi 310- I have to agree. The Black Beast, as far as I know, is far more destructive and powerful than Acnologia ever was.**

 **NatsuErzaDragneelSusanoo-I think you're overestimating the power of Blazblue characters, but thank you for sharing your opinion.**

 **Just so people know, I'm skipping the events that are already played by Fairy Tail characters that weren't replaced by someone else or by Ragna with only minor mentions. I don't see a point in doing something that we all know the outcome of.**

* * *

"Damn" Commented Ragna as he walked the streets of Crocus with everyone else. "Place is nice. Nicer than I thought it would be."

"You're right." Said Erza as she took in the environment. "It's even more magnificent than what the rumors say." Ragna just grunted in agreement. The city of Crocus can rival a hierarchal city in class. Though that would depend on the hierarchal city as some were more luxurious than others. Plus, he'd never ventured to the more older ones, which undoubtable had the fanciest buildings and the like.

"Man. What I wouldn't give to go on a shopping spree here." Said Lucy, making Ragna scoff, which she ignored.

"So, anyone know the rules for the games?" Asked Ragna. Makarov then spoke.

"Yes. This rule book that I got from the registration office should help." Said Makarov with Asuka, Bisca's and Alzack's daughter, on his shoulders as he handed Ragna the book. Levy then volunteered to read the rules, which prompted Ragna to give the book to her. As she skimmed the pages through with some magic-reading glasses, she spoke about some important rules.

"Alright. There's not too many rules that are pretty important except these and they're all pretty straight forward." After getting everyone's attention, she spoke. "The rules state that only members of a respective guild can participate. No one that isn't in a guild can't compete."

"That's a pretty unnecessary rule." Commented Gray, which everyone agreed.

"Another rule is that the guild masters can't participate in the games." Said Levy.

"Sounds fair." Said Makarov.

"The last one states that no one, other than the event staff, can know about the events that will partake in the Grand Magic Games. And they will only know about the events when they're announced." Finished Levy.

"So, basically it'll be a mystery to us on what the event for a day will be." Said Ragna. Levy nodded in confirmation. "Great. So, we'll have to be careful on who we pick."

"Pretty much." Said Levy before finishing. "Hold on, there's one more important bit. All participants must be at their designated inns before midnight."

"What for?" Asked Lucy. Levy just shrugged, chalking it up to just having the wizards needing some rest before the games. Seeing that was all, Lucy then exclaimed out loud excitedly.

"Alright!" Yelled Lucy. "Time to go explore Crocus! Who's with me!?" The girls, at least the more girly ones, yelled out and left with her to go explore Crocus. The guys just shrugged and decided to venture around Crocus with either the girls or by themselves. Ragna did the latter, going by himself. Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other plans, when he spotted Juvia stalking Gray. Raising an eyebrow, he walked over to her and tapped her shoulder, making her jump in surprise. Turning around, the water mage was relieved to see Ragna.

"Oh, sorry, Ragna." Said Juvia. "Juvia was just following her one true love."

"Yeah." Said Ragna. "By stalking him?" Juvia just blushed in embarrassment. "If you love him, why don't you say it to him?"

"W-well." Said Juvia, a bit uneasy. "I did, many times, but Mr. Fullbuster has rejected Juvia's love every time." Ragna rose an eyebrow at that.

"How many?" Asked Ragna, getting the feeling, he would be shocked at the answer.

"Sixty-five times." Said Juvia, shocking Ragna with the number.

' **Damn, she's persistent."** Thought Ragna as he looked at the love-struck water mage. "If you did tell him that many times, then maybe you should move on." Said Ragna. "He could just be not interested."

"No!" Yelled Juvia, getting right up to Ragna's face. "Juvia will not give up on Mr. Fullbuster. He'll eventually break and accept Juvia's feelings!" Ragna just took a step back from the woman. Her feelings, border lining on obsession, to Gray were like Nu's feelings for him. At least she wasn't trying to kill him. As far as he knew anyway.

"Sure." Said Ragna, a bit creeped out with this woman. "Just keep at it and maybe you'll succeed."

"Maybe?" Said Juvia, sarcastically. "No. Juvia will succeed."

"Yeah, whatever." Said Ragna before taking off. "Have a good day." Juvia then went a 180 in terms of personality and say good bye in a happy manner. Sighing to himself, he went on his way, hoping to find something to do.

" **She really is like Nu."** Thought Ragna. **"Just toned down a lot. Well, hope there's something fun to do while I wait for the games to start."** As Ragna was walking down the streets, he heard some jeers from people, insulting his guild and saying that they'll get last place again. Clenching his fist in anger, Ragna just ignored them and went on his way. He'll just settle down with making them eat their words when Fairy Tail would take first place. He'll make sure of that. Eventually, he decided to get a bite to eat, so he went to a nearby café. After getting his seat, he ordered a sandwich and a cup of coffee. While he waited for his food, he wondered what would the first event be. Would it be a one on one? Or would it be a team effort? **"Guess we'll just have to be ready for anything."** With that thought gone, Ragna heard a waitress coming over to his table and giving him his requested food. Thanking her, he began to dig in. As he was eating in content, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Raising an eyebrow, he turned around and saw, to his surprise, Cosmos with a seductive smirk on her face.

"I'll be." Said Ragna after swallowing a mouthful of his sandwich. "Didn't think you'd be here in Crocus. You here for the Grand Magic Games?"

"No." Said Cosmos as she took a seat next to Ragna. "I actually live here. I was on my way home when I spotted you. So, I just decided to come over and say hello."

"I see." Said Ragna after finishing his food. "Well, it's nice to see you again. Where's Kamika?"

"Oh, she's out shopping." Said Cosmos. "Though I'll pass a hello if you want."

"Sure." Said Ragna. "What happened after I left? Those kids and those crooks? Heard that they were found dead after a week since I met you guys."

"The kids are fine and so is the orphanage, now that those criminals are gone for good." Said Cosmos with a smile. "I can't stand those who will bully those that can't defend themselves."

"Same here." Said Ragna, remembering the NOL and Terumi. "Well, got to go. Maybe we can catch up sometime later." With that he paid for his meal and left.

"So, long." Said Cosmos with a smile as she waved goodbye. "Hope that your guild will do well this time!" Ragna just snorted before getting on his way. As he was walking he felt a bit weirded out that he was walking in plain sight without needing a concealment Arc. Despite being here for a couple of months, it still felt a bit weird being out in public, in plain view of everyone. It still took some time to get used to it. Sighing to himself, he wondered around the city. Might as well venture around the place.

* * *

 **Later**

 **Afternoon**

* * *

"God damnit." Said Ragna as he carried around a bunch of bags while Mirajane and Lisanna was walking in content. Sometime ago, he encountered Mirajane and Lisanna in a shopping spree. Upon seeing him, the two dragged him to carrying the stuff they bought and Lisanna pulled the puppy dog eye look on him to entice him. Growling in annoyance, he relented after the two started to beg for him to carry their stuff while also making a scene. "Why do you guys want this many clothes?"

"Because we can." Said Mirajane. "That and women need to be up to date with fashion."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I'm only buying a few things." Said Lisanna as she gave Ragna a bag to his already bulging number of bags in his arms.

"Yeah, that really makes me feel better." Said Ragna sarcastically as he struggled to hold them all. "Just hurry up and make your last choices so we can leave."

"Okay, just hold your horses." Said Mirajane as she observed two dresses. Content with one, she went to the counter and purchased the one she wanted. She then stuffed it into a bag and placed it on top of Ragna's pile of bags. "Okay! We can go now!" Growling in frustration, Ragna followed the two as they led him to their inn.

"This is just embarrassing." Said Ragna as he saw people looking at him, feeling pity for the man as he struggled to carry the bags. "How long is the walk?"

"About an hour." Said Mirajane, causing Ragna to sigh. Might as well pass the time with questions.

"So, how was Tenrou Island?" Asked Ragna. "Hardly heard some stuff about it. Only that it was eventful and that a Dark Guild and a dragon was involved." The two sisters looked at each other and shrugged. No point in not telling him and it would pass the time.

"Well, you see, it's a long story." Said Mirajane before telling a shortened version of the events on Tenrou island. After finishing, Ragna rose an eyebrow.

"So, the dragon part is true." Said Ragna. "This dragon called Acnologia was involved."

"Yup." Said Mirajane as she took a serious look. "We threw everything we had at it and it didn't make a dent on him. Granted, we were weakened from the battles with Grimoire Heart, the dark guild that attacked us, but it wouldn't have made a difference if we were all at full strength. Not even Gildarts, one of our most powerful members, barely survived against that dragon when he faced it alone." Ragna just stayed silent. Even with all their most powerful members combined, couldn't defeat Acnologia. He didn't know how powerful this Acnologia really is, but it sounds like, he could be the most powerful thing on this world. He wasn't sure if Acnologia can face off with the Black Beast, though. That thing could survive countless nuclear blasts at once and wasn't even phased. Plus, it would have conquered his world if the six heroes didn't kill it and it was done with a great cost.

"What happened to Grimoire Heart? They disappeared after the Tenrou island incident." Said Ragna.

"We honestly don't know." Said Lisanna. "Master Makarov let the leader of Grimoire Heart go along with his followers. We don't know what happened after that. Officially they disbanded, but we're not sure about that." Ragna just nodded in understanding, wondering if they were still active. Maybe he should ask those two chicks, Meredy and Ultear. Gray did say they were former members of Grimoire Heart. Maybe they knew what happened to them. Eventually, the three managed to find the inn, the sisters were staying in along with their brother. After helping them set everything down, Ragna just said good bye and left.

"Ragna!" Yelled Mirajane, catching his attention. "Good luck!" Nodding in confirmation, Ragna left.

" **Those two are nice."** Thought Ragna. **"Got a good relationship. Unlike me and Jin."** Thinking about his brother, Ragna wondered if they could have had a normal brotherly relationship again if he had stayed with him and everyone else. He hoped that he was doing well and that he wasn't as cold and insane as before. Eventually, he was snapped out of his thoughts when he spotted members of another guild. One that he was familiar with.

"I'll be damned." Said Ragna as he saw Kagura and her teammates were walking down the streets of Crocus. Wanting to have a normal conversation again, he walked over and shouted out Kagura's name. Turing around, Kagura let out a small smile and walked over to Ragna.

"I see the rumors were true. Fairy Tail is participating again." Said Kagura as her team greeted the grim reaper with more merrier responses.

"Yup. And we're going to win this year." Said Ragna with a smirk, causing Kagura to smirk as well.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." Said Kagura. "Either way, I'm looking forward to crossing swords with you. You'll be a worthy challenge to me."

"We'll see about that." Said Ragna before getting serious. "Anyway, do you know any other guild that will participate in this event?"

"Hmm…I know that Lamia Scale is participating as well as Sabertooth, and Blue Pegasus." Said Kagura as she recalled the guilds that she knew of that are participating in the games. "I also heard that Quattro Cerberus is participating also. Don't know how many more are, though, but I did recall seeing a large number of guilds here. Over a hundred."

"Damn." Said Ragna. "Is it always this big?"

"No." Said Kagura. "This is the largest concentration yet. The Grand Magic Games are certainly attracting more attention each year."

"That they are." Said Ragna. "Well, nice catching up to you, but I got to go back to the inn."

"As do we." Said Kagura before bowing in respect." Good luck and I hope to see your guild in the finals." Ragna just nodded before walking away.

"This will be an interesting tournament." Said Ragna as he made his way to the inn that his team will be staying in. Eventually, he spotted Wendy and Carla. Seeing them, he motioned for them to join him. Some protests were made by them, wanting to explore the city more, but Ragna ignored them and made them follow him.

* * *

 **Night**

* * *

"Where is everyone?" Asked Erza as she looked at Ragna, Wendy, and Carla. The four had been waiting for at least two hours for everyone to come back.

"No idea." Said Ragna as he laid on his bed.

"Maybe they got lost." Suggested Wendy. "This is a big city, after all."

"Natsu and his cat, I can see, but I don't see Gray being that clumsy." Said Carla. Just as Erza was about to go out and find them, the two knuckles heads that they were talking about had arrived with Happy and Lucy in tow, looking nervous.

"You're late." Said Erza, disappointment in her voice, as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah, got a little sidetracked." Said Gray.

"And Natsu ran into a bunch of other contestants. The Sabertooth guys." Said Lucy as Natsu made a face of anger at remembering the arrogant Dragon Slayers.

"Did one of those Sabertooth guys have blond hair and the other black?" Asked Ragna. "And had a couple of cats with them?" Seeing Lucy nod, he scoffed. "Had to be those two. Great. Now I have to deal with an arrogant jerk and an emo as well in this tournament."

"Oh yeah." Said Lucy. "You headbutted the blond guy once, right?" Seeing him nod, she continued. "Is he tough like the people keep making him out to be?"

"Not sure." Said Ragna. "Seemed pretty manageable to me though. Should be easy for us to take them down a peg or two."

"Sounds good to me." Said Natsu as he punched his fists together. "Been wanting to punch that guy since the second he opened his mouth."

"You and me both." Said Ragna. The door then opened to reveal Lisanna and Elfman, carrying food and drinks for them. As the group was getting ready for a late-night brunch, they all heard their clock ring to indicate it was twelve o'clock as well as everyone other clock around the city. They all then heard a voice outside. Running outside, they saw a massive hologram of a short man wearing a suit and a pumpkin helmet that completely covered his head. The hologram cleared his throat a bit before speaking.

"Alright!" Yelled the man with the pumpkin head in a cheery voice. "Good morning! To all citizens of Crocus as well as our contestants for the Grand Magic Games. To kickstart this year's Grand Magic Games, we'll be doing a preliminary event in order to shorten the number of participating guilds to a manageable eight!"

"Just eight!?" Yelled Ragna.

"That's quite unfortunate." Said Erza. "We'll have to take one of those spots if we want to reclaim our former glory."

"But what's the event?" Asked Wendy. As if to answer her question, the inn started to go up in the air, forcing everyone to hold on to something. Ragna looked around and saw other buildings doing the same.

"Must hold the other guilds." Said Ragna as he held onto a railing along with everyone else. "What's the event?"

"Whatever it is, it better be manly!" Exclaimed Elfman. After all the buildings stopped rising, a giant ball in the sky appeared from out of nowhere and a path soon appeared in front of the Fairy Tail team along with the other teams.

"Alright!" Said the pumpkin head. "Your next instructions will to enter the Sky labyrinth. From there, you'll all compete with each other to find a door that will guarantee your spot in the tournament. As I said, only eight guilds can compete this year so there's only eight doors. There are no restrictions in the labyrinth other than to win! And not to kill each other intentionally. Also, as a reminder, there is magic placed in the labyrinth to ensure nothing like motion sickness, fear of heights, and to nullify any natural advantages anyone has to ensure a fair game. With that out of the way, you all can commence!" With that the hologram went away. As soon as it left, Ragna went on the path and ran.

"C'mon!" Yelled Ragna as everyone was processing the information given to them. "We got to go!" Hearing him yell out, Erza ordered everyone to follow him before re-equipping into her standard armor and following him with everyone that was in the selected team in tow, leaving Happy, Carla, Lucy, Lisanna, and Elfman, wishing them good luck. As soon as they entered the labyrinth, they were taken in with how it looked. It truly was a labyrinth. It was a bizarre arrangement of stairs and floors. "This is just great. How the hell can we find a door in this mess?"

"We're just going to guess which path to take." Said Erza as she looked around which path to take.

"I guess this way." Said Wendy, pointing to the closet way.

"I think this way is the path." Said Natsu as he pointed to another direction.

"Hmm…" Ragna wondered which path was correct or which would just lead them astray. He then turned to Erza. "You're call, Erza." Erza just nodded before bringing out a compass she kept on her.

"Well," Started Erza as she starred at her compass. "I'd say we go to Wendy's path first." With that, the group ventured to the path Wendy choose, hoping it was the right path. As they ventured on the path they took, they noticed that the path started to get a little crazy.

"Man, what is up with this place?" Commented Natsu as they went through a spiral stairway that looked like a vortex of stairs.

"Don't look at me." Said Ragna as they ran down the stairway. "I'm not the one that designed this place."

"They must have designed it this way to ensure that only the best may proceed to the tournament." Said Erza.

"Doesn't matter who designed this place, the goal should be at the end!" Yelled Natsu. He then grew excited at seeing a door coming in his sights. Just as he was about to open it, Ragna suddenly grabbed him and pulled him back. "Hey man, what gives?" Ragna just opened the door, revealing that, had Natsu ran through, he would have fallen to the city below. Natsu widened his eyes as he looked down. "Thanks, man. I owe you one."

"No biggie." Said Ragna as he let go, grateful that his instincts kicked in on time and warned him about danger ahead. "Knew it wouldn't be this easy."

"He's right." Said Erza before jumping on a platform not to far away. She then frowned when she saw that the area they were in was the exact same as where they started in. "…We should make notes about the path we took and ones that we'll take next. That way we won't take the same one as before."

"Get what you're saying, but that's nearly impossible." Said Ragna as he looked around the mind-boggling design of this labyrinth. "Can't tell which paths to draw up accurately and what ones we took."

"It wouldn't hurt to try." Said Wendy with an optimistic tone. Ragna just grunted, knowing she was right.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me!" Yelled Ragna as he held onto Natsu as he pulled him up. "This is the fifth time this happened!" The group agreed with Ragna. They tried different paths once Wendy's led them to a near fall to the city, all of which had ended with the same conclusion. "Think we should try something else?"

"Well." Said Erza as she went into thought. "All these paths are in the exterior of the labyrinth. Perhaps the doors are inside."

"That's good a bet as any." Said Gray as he looked around in case the labyrinth decided to tilt again like last time. They nearly lost from the first time it happened, but now they were ready.

"Maybe these papers we got from the others teams would help." Said Wendy as she held the papers. During their 2nd path, they encountered Twilight Ogre, who wanted to fight them for the attack on their guild by Erza and Mirajane. They won, of course, but after discovering they had made notes on which path they took, they decided to attack other teams for their notes. Dirty, but hey, no rules except winning and no intentional killings.

"Doubt they had much of a chance either." Said Ragna. "Got to side with Erza. Maybe the doors are on the inside."

"But how are we going to get to the doors?" Asked Gray. "We tried to go deeper, remember?"

"Yeah, but." Started Ragna before going back on the path that led them to the deepest part of the labyrinth. As soon as they were all on the path, he began to tore the walls down with his sword, shocking them. They then saw some artificial grass and trees. "We didn't try destroying the place up first." He then turned to the group. "And since there's no rule that said that we have to keep this place standing, might as well cause some damage while we have the chance. Might help us with finding a new path."

"Awesome!" Yelled Natsu as he continued the destruction. "Been itching to do something like this." He then blew up a whole section of a wall to reveal what they already know.

"When I said cause some damage." Said Ragna as he watched Natsu jump down to a path that they uncovered. "I didn't mean do it excessively."

"It's Natsu." Said Gray. "What do you expect." He then jumped down to join Natsu with Wendy following soon. Erza just chuckled before jumping down as well. Ragna just scoffed before joining in. As they walked down their new path, they took in the artificial environment. It was an exact replica of the outdoors, complete with lush green fields of grass and a clear blue sky.

"They really went overboard on this place." Commented Ragna as they walked down their path.

"True, but you have to give them points for effort." Said Erza. They all then felt the labyrinth shift again and tried to hold on, but since there was nothing to hold on to, they all fell to the ground. After recovering, they all pressed on the path that was shoved into their hands by the shift. Eventually, they group spotted a door. Smiling, the group rushed down to the door as soon as they spotted it. Once there, they spotted the man with the pumpkin helmet. Upon seeing the Fairy Tail team, the man greeted them.

"Congratulations! You're the final team to go to the tournament!" Yelled the man.

"Final team!? You mean we got the eighth spot?" Asked Ragna incredulously as everyone grew depressed at that.

"Unfortunately, yes." Said the man. "You barely qualified."

"Damnit. Should have done this sooner." Said Ragna as he sighed in defeat. "So, how do we get down from here."

"Don't worry." Said the man. "We'll be escorting you out of here as soon as possible. Come with me." With that the team followed the weird man as he opened the door and lead them out.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

"Man, can't believe we got the last spot." Said Natsu as the team was back in the inn, now back to normal.

"Relax, we're still in the tournament." Said Gray. "Wish that we didn't get the final spot, though."

"Regardless, we should inform the guild that we made it." Said Erza. "Fill them in."

"I got it." Said Ragna before getting up from his bed. "You guys get some rest." Before he can open the door, it suddenly opened to reveal Lisanna in a frightened state.

"Guys! Something terrible happened to Lucy and Happy!" Yelled Lisanna, shocking everyone.

"What happened!?" Yelled Natsu, going over to Lisanna.

"We don't know." Said Lisanna as tried to explain the situation. "She and Happy got separated by us. We thought they were out shopping, but then me and big bro found them laying on the ground in an alleyway."

"Are they alright?" Asked Erza, serious about the condition of her teammates.

"Well, they have no visible injuries, but Lucy did say that they feel drained." Said Lisanna. "We sent word to Porlyusica, but it'll take some time for her to get the message."

"Think this was intentional?" Asked Ragna. Erza then turned toward him as everyone else was getting worried for Wendy.

"Has to be." Said Erza. "A message of sorts, but by who? Our competition or something else?" Ragna just shrugged.

"Guess we'll just find out by ourselves." Said Ragna as he observed Natsu clenching his fists in anger.

* * *

 **The next day**

 **Coliseum infirmary.**

* * *

"You okay Luce?" Asked Natsu as the Fairy Tail team was standing by her. Wendy wanted to try and help her and Happy, but Lucy protested, saying that she'll need all of her magic power for the tournament.

"Yeah. Just drained and exhausted." Said Lucy as she laid on the bed that was provided by the event staff. Happy was currently sleeping, trying to regain his strength.

"What happened?" Asked Erza. "Do you recall what happened when you were attacked?"

"Well," Started Lucy as she tried to recall about what happened. "Me and Happy were out looking for some fish he wanted to eat when suddenly we were dragged into an alley. From there, everything is a blur." She then held her head. "It hurts just trying to think about it." Ragna was about to comment on the situation when the door opened. Everyone turned around to see an elderly woman with pink hair and red eyes, wearing a red cloak, marching down to Lucy.

"Miss Porlyusica!?" Yelled out Erza in surprise. Wendy then donned a happy smile at seeing the old woman. "You came much sooner than we thought?"

"What?" Asked Porlyusica in a sarcastic tone. "I can't be allowed to cheer for my guild?"

"N-no, we just didn't think…" Erza then stopped before she could embarrass herself. Porlyusica just rolled her eyes as she examined Lucy and Happy.

"Well, I overheard what happened and decided to examine the situation." Said Porlyusica. After finishing her examination, she then explained what the problem is. "Nothing too serious. Just a severe physical degradation due to magic depletion. Something must have drained their magic levels down to nearly zero."

"Any idea of what caused it?" Asked Ragna. Porlyusica just turned to the new fairy, gauging him out, before speaking.

"I'm afraid not." Said Porlyusica. "It could be a number of sources. A type of magic, potion, plant, or even a creature able to drain one of magic power. It'll be next to impossible to determine which is the cause."

"Can you help her?" Asked Natsu. In concern

"Of course, I can." Said Porlyusica. "I just need to give them something to help restore their strength and magic power to normal levels. It shouldn't be too long." She then went to a cabinet of medical supplies to determine which ones will help Lucy and Happy with their condition. As she did so, Lucy donned a sad smile.

"Sorry, guys." Said Lucy as tears began to fill up her eyes. "This is so embarrassing, being caught like that and reduced to a weakened state."

"Don't beat yourself up." Said Natsu.

"Indeed. No one could have predicted that could have happened here in Crocus." Said Erza.

"Yeah." Said Ragna. "You'll be up and ready in no time."

"And don't worry." Said Gray. "If someone did this intentionally, we'll make them pay." Lucy just smiled before wishing everyone good luck. As the Fairy Tail team was leaving, Ragna couldn't help, but talk to everyone.

"And guesses on who it could have been?" Asked Ragna.

"My money would have been on one of the guilds that made it to the finals if it were one of us." Said Gray. "But since it's Lucy, I don't know. Her family did have a lot of enemies, no doubt."

"I doubt that." Said Erza. "It could be that dark force Jellal had told us about."

"Or one of your old enemies." Said Ragna, recalling that Fairy Tail also made a lot of enemies over the years. They nodded in agreement at that. "Whatever it is, we have to be ready. They might strike again."

"Agreed, but for now, we need to get ready for the tournament." Said Erza before marching to their dressing room. "We need to get into our uniforms."

"What. Uniforms?" Asked Ragna as the boys looked at each other in confusion.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

"God damnit. Why the heck would Makarov make us wear these." Said Ragna as he held up his uniform, a purple jacket. Natsu nodded in agreement, thinking they were lame. At least they made Natsu's exactly like his normal wear.

"Whether or not you like our master's choice in clothes, you have to wear it." Said Erza as she wore a more feminine version of the uniforms Makarov is making the team wear. She then smirked. "Unless you want to explain to him why you don't want to wear these things?" Ragna just grunted before removing his normal jacket and replaced it with the uniform.

"I think they're fine." Said Wendy, wearing smaller version of the uniform.

"And they're quite comfy." Said Gray, not wearing his uniform.

"You're naked, you idiot." Said Ragna, casing Natsu to snicker. Gray's eyes twitched, but stayed silent. "Well, might as well go out there and fight as hard as we can."

"Hell yeah!" Yelled Natsu before running off. Everyone just scoffed or smiled in amusement before running after him. Once they were out in the coliseum, however, they were meet with jeers and boos from the crowd. "What the hell?"

"Don't let it get to you." Said Ragna as the team stopped. "We'll show them after the games that we're back in action."

"He's right." Said Erza before pointing to a section of the crowd. "The support of our own guild is more than enough for us." She then donned a surprised, but pleased look. "And it seems our first master is here as well." Ragna just rose an eyebrow at that before looking at the section where the guild was. To his surprise, he saw a young, blond girl with green eyes, cheering them on. Everyone else in the section was also shocked.

"Know that girl?" Asked Ragna. Erza then explained to Ragna, that girl was Mavis Vermillion, the founder of Fairy Tail. Raising an eyebrow at her last name, he just nodded his head, hearing Erza explanation further. She then finished by explaining that her spirit was here to cheer them on. Ragna then looked back at Mavis. He was a bit weirded out that she was a spirit, his old fear of ghosts coming back to haunt him, but now he was over that after his final victory over Terumi. Now, it was a more suspicion than anything else, but he had a feeling that Mavis was a benevolent spirit, unlike Terumi. He then heard one of the announcers, one of three for the games, announced the other teams. He looked to see as each and every single one of the guilds that made it to the tournament came marching out with their own display of fireworks and grand displays. Ragna smirked at seeing Mermaid Heel coming out. Kagura, upon seeing Ragna, nodded her head in greeting before taking her spot as head of her team. He then rose an eyebrow when he saw a little girl from Lamia Scale trip over nothing and fall to the ground.

" **Why the hell is a girl doing in this tournament."** Thought Ragna as Lyon, the pompous and arrogant ice mage introduced the little girl as Chelia. **"Must be strong if Lamia Scale is bringing her along."** He then watched as a tiny man with a very ugly face from the blue Pegasus went over to Erza and announced that if their guild won, then Erza will join their guild and be his one and only, which Erza protested in disgust. As he watched as everyone got into bets with the other guilds, Ragna instincts kicked in and he felt a cold presence approaching them. Drawing his eyes to one of the other entrances to the coliseum, he narrowed them when he saw a group of wizards coming to them with a dark aura. As the talking and excitement went to an abrupt end, the announcers then announced this team to represent a guild called Raven Tail. Ragna's team starred at the Raven Tail team suspiciously. "Got a problem with them?" Asked Ragna.

"Yes." Said Erza. "They're a dark guild under the control of Ivan, Makarov's son." Ragna's eyes widened at that.

"If they're a dark guild, then how come they're allowed to enter this tournament. The rules say that only official and legal guilds can participate." Said Ragna, though he knew they must have cheated or bribed their way in. Erza just shrugged before telling everyone to be on guard. Ragna then looked at the Raven Tail team, looking all creepy and evil-like. He went on guard when they went too close for comfort to the Fairy Tail team.

"Fairy Tail." Said a man in golden armor in a raspy tone. "Hope that our little spectacle with your friend got your attention." A tiny creature with a cheshire smile went on the man's shoulder. Natsu growled at what he said.

"You're the ones that attacked Lucy." Said Natsu as he glared at them. Everyone else just narrowed their eyes in silent rage.

"Relax." Said the armored man. "The festival is just beginning and the real show hasn't started yet."

" **Bastards."** Thought Ragna as he stared down at them. He was about to comment on them, when suddenly an announcer yelled out about an interesting surprise. To everyone's surprise, a burst of lightening then appeared and from it, appeared another Fairy Tail team, composed of Mirajane, Laxus, Gajeel, Juvia, and some blue-haired guy dressed in various robes and had multiple staffs on his back. While people then talked about this strange events, the announcers then explained that a rule was recently added that allowed guilds to have two teams in the tournament in case one was eliminated during the preliminary match.

" **Guess they didn't think that both teams would advance in the tournament."** Thought Ragna as Natsu announced that he'll fight with all he's got if he had to face down the others from the other team of Fairy Tail, which was greeted earnestly from Gajeel, saying he'll do the same thing. As Ragna watched the two argue and watching Erza talk with the blue-haired stranger, he heard the team representing Sabretooth be announced and he saw them coming in the coliseum with massive fireworks, creating a grand entrance. He grunted as Natsu and Gajeel antagonized the Dragon Slayers of Sabretooth, which was met with indifference. A few moments later, he felt a glare coming at him from Sting, which he ignored. Soon, the announcer then announced the rules for the tournament. Each day will start with a challenge, where points will be given to the teams for how well they do, up to a maximum of ten points for the one that did the best and zero for the one that did the worst. The day will end with battles that will be decided by the audience or the event staff. The winner of that battles will win ten points and the loser will get zero. However, each team will get five points if the timer runs out and both participants are still standing or if it ends in a draw. The tournament then began with a game called hidden. As the teams announced who will participate for their respective teams, Gray stepped forward with Juvia, announcing they'll do it. Well, actually, Juvia only did it because Gray was in the event, but who cares about the reason. Ragna then left with everyone else as the weird guy with the pumpkin head, who he found out to be the mascot of the games called Mato, ran into the selected wizards and began the event. To his surprise, holograms of building began to appear from the middle of the coliseum.

" **Why do I get the feeling that something bad is about to happen?"** Thought Ragna as the teams went a safe distance to watch the event.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

"Oh, you got to be kidding me." Said Ragna as the event ended and the hologram building went away. That was the most pitiful display he'd ever seen in his life. Gray, having been picked on by the Raven Tail member, kept losing points to him and didn't even score once. Juvia, due to her obsession with Gray, only scored one point, but lost that to the Sabretooth guy, who scored big in just one attack, taking out everyone. The event then ended soon after that spectacle. The results were Sabretooth, Raven Tail, Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel, Quattro Cerberus, and Fairy Tail team B and A in that order. Ragna growled as he heard the jeers and insults coming from the crowd. If he was in his younger years, he would force them to shut up, but now he knew that would just cause them to hate and fear him, something that he didn't want a repeat of. Plus, he was in a team now. Wouldn't affect the guild in a good way if he started punching or slamming his sword on innocent bystanders. As Gray passed over his team, Ragna called out to him.

"Don't beat yourself up too much." Said Ragna. "You'll get another chance." Gray just ignored him and went back to the rec room Fairy Tail was given. Sighing to himself, he then heard that the battle portion of the day was now up and that he'll be the first to go. Sighing again, he went to the middle of the coliseum as his opponent was announced to be Flare Corona, a member of Raven Tail.

"Well, might as well take over and show how strong Fairy Tail really is." Said Ragna as Flare stared at him with a crazed expression, which was made creepy with how vacant her eyes looked. Seriously, he swore that she didn't have pupils in those red eyes of hers.

"I want carnage out there, Ragna!" Yelled Makarov from the stands. "Show her what it means to mess with Fairy Tail!"

" **Damn."** Thought Ragna as he heard this from the master. **"He must really hate Raven Tail if he's doing stuff like this."**

"Do well out there, Ragna!" Yelled Erza. "Win this and we'll catch up with everyone else!"

"Don't worry about it!" Yelled Ragna as he looked back at his opponent. "This won't take long. Won't even need to try."

"Yes." Agreed Flare, flashing a creepy smile. "Won't be too long to humiliate your guild. Before we begin, I want to congratulate you in saving that poor little girl yesterday." Ragna looked confused for a second when he recalled brining Wendy back to the inn yesterday.

"Wendy? Were you going to do something to her?" Asked Ragna with narrowed eyes. Flare just chuckled.

"Nothing too serious." Said Flare. "Just enough to send a message." This made Ragna clench his fist. Anyone willing to hurt children were people that needed to be taken down in his book. He then felt his Grimoire started to burn up a bit, but he ignored it.

"Well, sorry to say, but you're the one that's going to humiliate your guild." Said Ragna as he brandished his sword. "Cause I'm planning on mobbing the floor with you." Flare just giggled at that.

"You really are arrogant, aren't you?" Asked Flare.

"Nope." Said Ragna as he got ready for a fight. "Just stating what will happen." Mato then ran up between them and reminded them of the rules regarding the battle portion of the tournament. After doing so, he then announced them to fight as soon as a gong is rung. He then quickly ran away to safety as the gong rang soon after he left. Not wanting to waste time, Ragna threw himself forward with an extended fist, covered in dark energy.

"Hell's fang!" Yelled Ragna as he closed in on Flare, who simply chuckled before jumping to safety. To his honest surprise, he saw the woman's braided hair unravel on its own and began to attack him.

" **Okay."** Thought Ragna as he effortlessly dodged all the attacks. **"This just went to the weird zone again. Hair? God damn. What else is there? Paper?!"** Having enough now, Ragna switched his sword into scythe form and began to hack and slash the hair, the blade easily slicing through, even without the added power of his Grimoire. As he cut the last of the hair, he saw Flare look shocked at how effortlessly he slashed her hair.

"What's wrong? Can't take a haircut?" Asked Ragna as he flicked his scythe to remove any remains of hair from it. Flare just glared at him murderously before launching her hair again, this time in a wolf form.

"Hair shower: Wolf Fang!" Yelled Flare as the wolf charged at him.

"Tch." Said Ragna before jumping forward and slashing the wolf in half before chopping it up to bits and pieces. "Better hope that you have something other than your hair up your arsenal." He saw that she was shocked even more at his ease at cutting her hair. "Cause so far, your hair is nothing compared with what I had to go up against." Flare just growled before launching her hair into the ground. Ragna just stood ready, thinking that she was trying to attack from underground. Sure enough she did so, several tendrils launched at him in multiple directions. As he slashed at each and every one, he saw that Flare was giggling to herself, causing him to narrow his eyes.

" **Somethings off."** Thought Ragna as he slashed the last tendril. **"What's she planning?"** He then saw her point to the stadium. He then looked at where she was pointing. To his shock and horror, a tendril of hair was near Asuka. "You scum." He then slashed another barrage of tendrils. He was about to attack again when Flare wagged her finger, making him stop. **"Damnit. Guess I'll have to improvise."** Ragna then looked at the ground and got an idea. **"This better work."** He then slammed his sword on the ground with so much force that dirt went up in the air, creating a makeshift dust cloud. Flare, too shocked at this sudden turn of events, was unable to move away when Ragna came out with a fist covered in dark energy. The attack hit her in the stomach, throwing her to the wall, creating a crater. She then fell to the ground, unable to get up due to how much force Ragna put into the attack.

"Staying on the ground?" Asked Ragna as he looked at her slumped form. "Good." Mato, upon seeing the battle being over, went over to Flare to inspect her. After ensuring that she was unconscious, he announced the winner to be Ragna the Bloodedge.

"I'll be!" Yelled an announcer with fake hair. "With just a few attacks, Fairy Tail's new member has scored enough points to allow Fairy Tail team A to share first place with Sabertooth."

"Just goes to show us how much stronger Fairy Tail is now." Said another announcer with a chef uniform, wearing a proud smile.

"Agreed!" Said the first announcer. "Now, if the contestants can please step out of the arena, so that the next battles can commence." Ragna just grunted before walking over to Flare, still unconscious. Seeing her teammates not doing anything, he grabbed her and carried her over his shoulder, surprising everyone with this display, before getting out of the arena. After doing so and walking in the hallways of the coliseum, he felt Flare starting to stir.

"What happened?" Asked Flare as she rubbed her eyes. To her shock, she was being carried by the very man that she fought against.

"You lost and I won. Even after you tried to cheat." Said Ragna as he dropped her, inelegantly, to the floor. As she looked at him, she gulped in fear when she saw the look he was giving her. It wasn't murderous, but she can feel the anger coursing off of him. "Listen here." Said Ragna as he leaned in closer to Flare, who was shaking in fear as she felt the power emitting from him. "The only reason you're still alive is because of the rules and because I was holding back a lot. If I was even trying a bit, you would be a stain in the coliseum right now. So, listen up. Try to do shit the you did with the kid again, and you're gonna wish that your guild didn't participate in this tournament. Got it!?" Seeing her nod her head rapidly, Ragna began to walk away, confident that he scared her enough. Eventually he managed to find the area where is team was watching the coliseum. Upon seeing him, they went on to congratulate him on a job well done. After shooting down the praise and saying that it was nothing, the team went on to see the reminder of the battles for today. Eventually, after some entertaining battles, the final match was against Jura of Lamia Scale and Mystogan of Fairy Tail, who was actually Jellal impersonating Mystogan, according to Erza. She said it was to closer examining the stadium for the dark magic resonating here. She said that she was against the idea, but she had no choice on the matter as Makarov allowed him to do so.

"Must have wanted his help." Said Ragna as he watched the two battle.

"Yes, Jellal was once a member of the Ten wizard saints." Said Erza as she watched Jellal performing Mystogan's magic flawlessly. "He's doing well in imitating Mystogan's magic."

"Yeah, but can he win with it?" Asked Ragna as he watched Jura effortlessly deflect or defend against Jellal's attacks. Eventually, seeing that his attacks were doing nothing, Jellal switched to his own magic. Ragna watched as Jellal used his magic to increase his speed, allowing him to dodge Jura's attacks, though he had a few close calls. He then watched as Jellal went into the sky and made some zig-zags as he dodged the rocks Jura was sending him. Eventually he was hit, but then Ragna saw the sky lit up before a barrage of lights went to Jura, who summoned a rock creature to defend himself.

"Did he do all that on purpose?" Asked Ragna as everyone shielded themselves from the shockwaves and dust coming from the battle.

"Must have." Said Erza. "He must have drawn magic circles while dodging Jura's attack."

"Who's going to win?" Asked Ragna as the two wizard saints attacked each other, creating another dust cloud and sonic boom.

"No idea." Said Natsu. "But I'm betting on Jellal." Everyone then watched as the sky grew black. They all then looked up and, to their shock, a dark vortex of clouds had formed over the entire coliseum.

"What the hell!?" Yelled Wendy as she and Natsu watched in awe and fear at the vortex.

"What's he doing?" Asked Ragna as he saw Jellal making a stance. "Is he planning on taking out the entire stadium!?"

"No, he wouldn't do that." Said Erza, calm as ever. "He's not that stupid, nor does he want to inflict suffering on innocent lives." Before Ragna can retort, they saw Jellal suddenly froze, the vortex suddenly going away, and grasping his mouth. They all then watched, in confusion and shock, as he suddenly went to the ground in pain before rolling around in joyous laughter.

"What…the…hell?" Asked Ragna as everyone, including him, sweat dropped at seeing this. "Am I dreaming or did someone hit me with a spell or something?"

"No…we're seeing this too." Said Erza, not believing what she was seeing right now. After a few minutes of this comical display, they all then saw Jellal clench the air before falling the ground, unconscious. Jura, with his eyes wide and mouth wide-opened tried to understand what just happened as with everyone else. After a few seconds of gawking, the announcers then declared Jura to be the winner, something that was barely acknowledged by the victor himself, still stuck in his confusion. Eventually Jellal woke up, and seeing that everyone was insulting him and also remembering what happened, lowered his head in shame before walking out of the coliseum.

"What just happened?" Asked Ragna. "Why the heck did that happened?"

"Well," Said Erza with a sympathetic smile as she watched Jellal leave in disgrace. "I can only assume Meredy did this. She's the only one I know of that can do something like this and get away with it."

"And she would do this because…" Erza just shrugged.

"Ultear probably forced her too." Said Erza. "Meredy has to feel it to in order for it to work." Ragna just nodded before looking at the board. Forth place for Fairy Tail team A. Not bad for a start.

"We're okay for now?" Asked Ragna as he saw the board.

"Yup." Said Natsu with a big smile. "And if this keeps up, then Fairy Tail team B will be forced to do what we want for a whole day." Ragna then remembered the bet that Makarov made during the hidden game. The Fairy Tail team that can outplay the other in terms of points, then the losing team will have to obey the commands of the winning team for a whole day, something that Ragna found pretty enticing.

" **Only wish I can do it to the old man and that red-haired chick. That would be awesome."** Thought Ragna as he imagined Valkenhayn, Rachel's butler, and Tsubaki, Noel's red-haired friend, doing whatever he wanted. He was sure they would rather die than be subject to that torment and humiliation.

"Yes." Said Erza. "A rough start, but it's only a matter of time before we reclaim Fairy Tail's lost honor." She then laid a hand on Ragna's shoulder. "Good work Ragna. You performed well today."

"Thanks, but we should probably be comforting Gray, right about now." Said Ragna with Wendy nodding in agreement. Erza then nodded.

"You're right." Said Erza. "He's probably beating himself up right now for the hidden game. We should find him and help him get over this. Agreed?" Everyone just nodded, even Natsu. He may hate Gray's guts, but he still cared for him as a teammate. As the Fairy Tail team A left with everyone else, the first day of the tournament being over, Ragna couldn't help but think when the Azure Grimoire reacted the way it did when Flare mentioned that Wendy was their first intended target.

" **Never did something like that before."** Thought Ragna as he looked at his Grimoire. **"Wonder what caused it."** He had a feeling that he won't like the answer. Meanwhile, as she was walking with everyone in the guild, Carla experienced a vision. One that greatly worried her.

* * *

 **Well, Ragna's Azure Grimoire went a bit mental at hearing Wendy was the primary choice for Raven Tail. Wonder if it'll happen again or not?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **This was going to be originally with chapter 7, but it got too long so I decided to cut this part and make it it's own chapter** **.**

* * *

"God damn it." Said Ragna as he grew annoyed with the loud noises the drunk mages of Fairy Tail were making. They were all currently drinking in a local bar in Crocus in order to drink about their progress. It wasn't bad, but it could have been better. That didn't mean they can make as much noise as possible, however. "Can't I drink a beer in peace?"

"Can't blame them." Said Levy as she sweat-dropped at the loud noises everyone was making. "We did kind of poorly today." She then waved her hand rapidly. "Not that you did poorly, Ragna! You did alright."

"Relax." Said Ragna. "I'm not offended. Where's Gray and Jellal? Aren't they here to drink their sorrows?"

"Erza is talking with Mystogan right now." Said Levy, using Jellal's cover in case of unwanted strangers overhearing their conversation. "Gray is in his room. Still a bit sore about what happened in the tournament. I suspect that you winning your battle may not have helped his ego." Ragna just sighed at that.

"Should I go speak to him?" Asked Ragna.

"I wouldn't recommend it, but you can if you want." Said Levy. "Just try and be gentle with him."

"No promises." Said Ragna before finishing his beer. "Tell everyone that I'm gone to see Gray." Ragna then went to the door. Juvia, hearing that, started to day dream.

* * *

 **Gray's room**

* * *

"You okay?" Asked Ragna as he went inside Gray's room. Gray just stayed silent as he sat in a chair, brooding. "Just shake it off. You're gonna end up an emo if you keep this up." He then sighed. "Look, just get over it. We still have four more days ahead of us, more then enough to get back at Sabertooth. Besides, won't do for a guy like you to be depressed all the time."

"…You don't get it." Said Gray. "I could have easily won that if it weren't for that Raven Tail brute. And that pompous wizard."

"I doubt it." Said Ragna. "Look, if it helps, I'll stay here and help you through this." Gray looked shocked at this and was about to respond when everything went black.

* * *

 **Reality**

* * *

"Ah!" Squealed Juvia when she was suddenly hit in the head. Moaning in pain as she rubbed her head, she looked to see Ragna with an annoyed expression.

"Why do I get the feeling you were daydreaming about me and Gray in a less than real scenario?" Asked Ragna as Gray looked annoyed as well. Just as he was about to open the door, Gray suddenly walked in, surprising Ragna.

"Uh…I have no idea what you're talking about." Said Juvia as she rubbed her hands in anxiety.

"Yeah, I doubt that." Said Ragna before turning to Gray. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." Said Gray. "Won't do the guild good if I'm brooding all the time because of one setback. That'll damage my reputation."

"Your reputation of being a nudist?" Asked Ragna. Gray then glared at Ragna and threw a punch, which was caught and was used to throw Gray off his feet and into the ground. Seeing the brawling being caused right now, Natsu then jumped and threw him into the fray, annoying Ragna as he now had to deal with two idiots. After some time of blocking and punching, Ragna managed to incapacitate he ice and fire mage just in time to see a stranger removing Cana's bra, whose wearer was unconscious from drinking too much. Macao and Wakaba tried to get it back, but the man dodged their attacks and smashed their faces to the floor while drunk, he might add. Erza, upon seeing the man, walked over and said his name.

"Bacchus? Is that you?" Asked Erza as the man, recognizing the voice, stood up and looked at Erza.

" ***Laughs*** I'll be damned! Erza Scarlet! Still as beautiful as ever." Said the drunken man called Bacchus.

"You sure know how to flatter a girl." Said Erza with amusement as Lucy came over, having fully recovered some time ago.

"You know this guy?" Asked Lucy.

"Yes." Said Erza. "This man is Bacchus Groh, a member of Quattro Cerberus. He's one of their S-class wizard. We crossed a few times while on jobs and sometime we would spar or fight. There's never been a deciding winner, though."

"You mean he's strong enough to get a draw with you?" Asked Lucy in shock.

"That's right and I'm guessing that you gotten stronger over the years, right?" Asked Erza. Bacchus just laughed.

"You got it. And I'm itching for another match between us." Said Bacchus.

"Participate in the tournament and you may get that chance." Said Erza with a smirk. "You are participating, right?"

"Yup." Said Bacchus. "I was normally here to just taste the liquor here, but after seeing one of my guildmates humiliate himself today, my manly got a healthy dose of vengeance." He then laughed out loud. "Good luck tomorrow. Hope to fight one of you in the battle portion of the tournament." He then laughed out loud as he made his way out of the bar that Fairy Tail was in.

"You're betting that you'll win against him this time, Erza?" Asked Ragna as he looked at Erza.

" ***Chuckles*** Perhaps. It'll be fun to see just how powerful he grew over the years." Said Erza. "What about you. Think he'll be a fine challenge for you?"

 **"Tch. Doubt it."** Thought Ragna as he recalled his fights with Azrael, Hakumen, Terumi, Take-Mikazuchi, and Terumi in the Susanoo unit. He was sure he could beat Bacchus with ease as well as most people in the other guilds. "Maybe. So, who will be the one to do the mystery challenge?"

"Me!" Yelled Natsu as he got up from the ground, fully recovered from the beating that Ragna gave him. "And there's nothing that you guys can do about it!"

* * *

 **The next day**

* * *

"Me and my big mouth." Groaned Natsu as he tried to advance the moving chariots in order to reach the finish line. Why did the event include moving vehicles?

"We should have stopped him." Deadpanned Ragna as he wondered why this was happening to Natsu, Gajeel, and Sting. "And what's wrong with them?"

"Motion sickness." Explained Wendy. "For some reason, Natsu has this problem with motion sickness whenever he's on a moving vehicle. Or anything that isn't Happy as he can be just fine whenever Happy carries him.

" **That cat of his can carry him?"** Thought Ragna as he imagined the tiny cat carrying Natsu around. It was kind of funny. "So, is this common for all dragon slayers?"

"I don't think so." Said Wendy. "At least before today. I thought Natsu was the only exception, but it seems Gajeel and that Sabertooth guy is getting it too."

"Which is weird because Gajeel used to be fine with moving vehicles." Said Gray, wondering why he was affected.

"I guess it's just a common thing for male Dragon Slayers." Said Erza, wondering it was because Wendy was female that she wasn't affected like the others.

"Whatever the case is, we won't get a lot of points from this portion of the games." Said Ragna as he sweat dropped as Natsu tried to advance further. "This is honestly sad and funny, at the same time."

"Yup." Said Gray, secretly enjoying this. A few minutes passed and soon, the non-Dragon Slayers had finished with Bacchus taking first place, leaving the Dragon Slayers left. "Uh…should they call this off?"

"I doubt it." Said Ragna as they watched the three Dragon Slayers struggled to not barf. A few minutes passed and the announcers were about to call it when Natsu suddenly made a impactful speech about doing all this for their guild and the ones that kept it alive, despite the humiliation they had to endure. As he listened in on this speech, Ragna couldn't help, but be impressed a bit. He kind of reminded of himself. Someone not willing to let their loved ones get hurt and not willing to give up despite the odds being against them. He then watched as Gajeel and Natsu made it to the finish line, despite it causing them constant pain due to their motion sickness, scoring their teams one point.

"Hmph. Got to admit that was moving." Said Ragna as everyone else on the team nodded in agreement.

"He may be dumb, but he makes up for it with his dedication to his friends and beliefs." Said Gray with a small smile. The announcers then announced the battle portion of the day. The battle portion first started with Lamia Scale against Raven Tail. The battle was entertaining, having a bet in it to between the two wizards, but eventually the Lamia Scale lost to the Raven Tail wizard. The Lamia Scale wizard then told his darkest secret to the Raven Tail mage, due to the bet being that the loser had to confess a secret. To everyone's confusion, the secret was that he lost his sock and that he hadn't been able to find it. Ragna just sweat dropped as he spotted a sock on his neck tie.

"Is this guys for real?" Asked Ragna as the Raven Tail pointed to the sock on the Lamia Scale mage's chest, which made the guy erupt in joy at seeing it, unknowingly embarrassing himself and his guild. Ragna then looked to see Erza tearing up, much to everyone's shock and wonder.

"I'm so happy for him." Said Erza as she wiped a tear.

"Uh…right." Said Ragna as he looked back to see the Raven Tail mage rip the sock to pieces, much to the dismay of the Lamia Scale mage, who broke down. Ragna would have commented on such behavior, but he was too much in his confusion about the sock in the first place to even care. All he could do was watch as Gray tried to hold Erza back from killing the Raven Tail mage. The announcers, after getting rid of the shock from the whole sock thing, announced that Bacchus will be fighting Erza next. After getting over the sock thing herself, Erza changed into her usual armor and went into the arena, where Bacchus was waiting. The two expressed some pleasantries before attacking each other. Ragna watched in eagerness as Erza changed into a red-colored armor with wings and a red sword before attacking Bacchus with fire and her sword. Bacchus, despite being a bit lazy, dodged her attack and slammed a hand on Erza's stomach, actually knocking her back.

"Damn. He's actually doing some stuff against her." Said Ragna as he watched them continue to fight.

* * *

 **Erza's POV**

* * *

After recovering from Bacchus's initial attack, Erza began to chuckle.

"You have majorly improved over the years." Said Erza, looking at her stomach. The armor and cloth was completely destroyed. "That attack actually did something."

"Great praise coming from Erza Scarlet." Said Bacchus with genuine respect. "But don't think that I'll lose to you."

"And don't think I'll lose to you." Said Erza before changing into her purgatory armor, a set of black armor with spikes. "I'll win this battle for my guild." She then charged at Bacchus with her spiked mace raised. Raising an eyebrow, Bacchus went on the offense, trying to land another strike on Erza. However, despite his best efforts, Erza was either side-stepping or blocking the attacks with her mace. On the other hand, Erza couldn't land a single blow on Bacchus, who was dodging or jumping to avoid the hits. Eventually, both landed a hit on each other, Erza on the face while Bacchus received one on the chest. The two were forced to the ground due to the attacks and the force behind it. As Erza got up, she spit out some blood due to the force of Bacchus put into his palm strike. While doing so, she watched as Bacchus held his chest.

"Not bad." Said Bacchus as he starred down at Erza. "You haven't lost your edge." Erza just smiled as she changed into another set of armor, her Clear Heart Clothing set.

"Neither have you." Said Erza as she drew her katana. Bacchus just smiled before moving to his bottle of alcohol. Seeing this, Erza dashed toward the bottle and slashed the bottle in two.

"Damn." Said Bacchus as he saw her do this, to far away to do anything. "Looks like I got to do this sober. Should be an interesting fight."

"Yes." Said Erza as she smiled. "Just like the old days." Bacchus just smiled and laughed before charging. The two then engaged each other in brutal fashion again, both trying to land the killing blow. As she was side stepping away from Bacchus's attacks, she tried to slash at his chest, only to have it blocked by Bacchus's hands. Frowning, Erza then ducked to avoid another palm strike to the face as Bacchus overextending himself, allowing her to kick him in the stomach, causing him to fly up to the air. Seeing the opportunity, Erza jumped and poured a majority of her magic power in her katana. She then slashed at Bacchus's chest as he fell to meet her. After doing so, she landed gracefully near the fallen man. She turned around and looked at her opponent. To her mild surprise, Bacchus was getting up. As soon as he got up, however, he fell to the ground again, for good this time. Smiling, she raised her katana as the announcer's declared her the winner. She then heard Bacchus laugh out loud.

"Guess the drinks are on me, huh Erza?" Asked Bacchus as he turned over in order to see the sky. "Nice tie breaker, eh?" Erza just let out a small smile for him.

"A nice one." Said Erza as she changed into her usual armor. "Rematch after this tournament?" Bacchus just laughed before waving his hand in agreement, showing that he was all for it. Erza just let out a chuckle as she walked back.

* * *

 **Ragna's POV**

* * *

"Damn." Said Ragna. "Guess Bacchus isn't near Erza's level now."

"Yup. Knew that she would win." Said Natsu with a smile. They then heard that the next match was Mirajane against Jenny Realight, a member of Lamia Scale. "Oh, this would be good. Mirajane is going to mop the floor with this chick." As the two combatants are walking down to the arena. Ragna had heard about Mirajane and her power. Quite frankly, he wondered if she was more powerful than Erza. Based on what he heard about both and their feats, he assumed that Mirajane is more powerful, which was confirmed by Erza herself last night. It's just that she had more time to uphold her reputation after Mirajane lost her magic after a traumatic event with her siblings Once told about it, it reminded him about his with his own siblings. The only difference is that they're all alive and that no psychopath tried to break them up or make them fight amongst themselves.

"Anything about this Jenny chick?" Asked Ragna as he prepared for a massacre.

"Actually, nothing about her fighting skills." Said Erza as she arrived from her fight. "She only known for her modeling career, nothing about her fighting skills. So I doubt that she's that tough. Though I would be cautious as she may have a trick up her sleeve." Ragna then nodded in agreement and was about to cheer for Mirajane when something happened that really made him uncomfortable. Both women were in swimsuits, posing provocative stances to the audience.

"What…the…fuck?" Asked Ragna as he tried to process this. He then turned to see Natsu and Gray freaked out at this while Wendy was covering her eyes. Erza just closed her eyes and donned an annoyed expression. "Isn't this a tournament for testing a wizard's skills in battle and to test their magic, not a modeling tournament where people can watch for fan service?"

"…I'm pretty sure this was a special request made by them." Said Erza, annoyed with this turned of events.

"Well, since this is nothing that I like to see, I'm gone." Said Ragna as he left the stand. "Get me when it's over." As he was walking down the hallways of the coliseum, Ragna found a quiet and secluded spot where he can see his Grimoire. After removing his signature jacket, Ragna was glad that Makarov decided to forgo the team uniforms and let them wear what they like, he rolled up the sleeve of his black shirt to reveal his Grimoire, which was his arm. The dark mass of concentrated Seithr had taken the form of his arm when it was cut off by his brother Jin. He had gotten the Grimoire after that incident and it'd been a part of him since. As he flexed his Grimoire arm, he wondered why it had reacted back when Flare had told him about Wendy. It never did anything like that when he was angry and it didn't seem to be doing to when Flare was threatening to harm Asuka or any other time when he got mad. So why did it react like that? He was about to think on the matter when he sensed a presence. Rolling his sleeve back up, he got up and yelled out.

"Come out. I know you're there." Said Ragna as he put on his sleeve. To his surprise, Meredy had come out of a hiding spot and ran up to him. "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing much." Said Meredy as she looked around for any potential eavesdroppers. She then turned serious. "You see Ragna, during your match with that Flare chick, Crime Sorcière had detected a dark presence on the coliseum. And Jellal is sure that it came from you."

"Positive?" Asked Ragna, a bit on guard in case Meredy tried something.

"Positive." Said Meredy as she stared at him. "He was sure of it. He's not suspecting that you're with Zeref or anything, but we want you to be honest with us. Is your magic influenced by Zeref's power?"

"Heck no." Said Ragna, a bit annoyed at her accusation. "It's not I guarantee you. And why are you asking me this, shouldn't I be innocent since I only joined Fairy Tail this year."

"Yeah, but Jellal was a bit worried when he sensed some dark force coming from you." Said Meredy with an apologetic face. "I tried to tell him that you're an okay guy, but he just wanted to make sure. Sorry about this."

"It's alright." Said Ragna. "But I'm telling you, I'm innocent with whatever is going on in this tournament."

"Yeah I know." Said Meredy before putting on her hood on. "So, how come you aren't there out at the stadium." She then donned mischievous look. "Can't stand seeing breasts and naked women?"

"Very funny, you brat." Said Ragna, making Meredy fake a pout. "That stuff just isn't my style."

"So are you into guys?" Asked Meredy teasingly.

"What the hell!" Yelled Ragna, getting annoyed and flustered with this conversation. "Hell no! Why the hell would you say something like that!"

"I'm just teasing you." Said Meredy with a smile. "You're easy to fluster if the right buttons are pushed. See ya!" She then walked away.

" ***Sighs*** Crazy girl." Said Ragna as he went back to observing his Grimoire, wondering why it reacted it did yesterday. After some time, he sighed to himself, dressed up, and went to the stands where everyone is. To his surprise, he saw two giant fish attacking Kagura, who was dodging their attacks.

"What did I miss?" Asked Ragna as he made his way to his team's stand.

"Nothing much." Said Erza. "Mirajane won her match and your friend Kagura is dealing with a member of Sabertooth right now. A celestial wizard."

"I see." Said Ragna, having heard about these types of wizards from Lucy and some books on them. "Can't she just take away the keys? Shouldn't that win her the battle?"

"Easier said than done." Said Erza. "This celestial wizard is doing a marvelous job at defending her keys and keeping Kagura at bay. Plus, I don't think she's the type to do such a dirty trick."

"Have to agree with you." Said Ragna as he watched the celestial wizard summon another wizard, a scantily-clad woman with scales. He then saw the woman move her scales around. To his shock, he saw the ground shake around Kagura, who seemed unable to move. He then watched as the fish charge at her, only for Kagura to jump an incredible distance.

" **Damn. She could give my Kagura a run for his money."** Thought Ragna as he saw Kagura get tossed to a statue, due to the female spirit changing her gravity to that direction. With the target immobilized, the fish then charged at Kagura, only to stop suddenly. Everything then watched in awe as the ground suddenly shake around all three spirits, immobilizing them. He then watched as Kagura, now free of whatever was troubling her before, force the spirits to smash into each other, knocking them all out. Impressed, the white-haired celestial wizard recalled her spirits back before taking out a black key, saying that she'll open the thirteenth gate.

"Thirteenth?" Said Ragna. "I thought there were only twelve of these gates?"

"Not exactly." Said Wendy. "I only know a little, but I know that there are a lot more gates out there. The twelve gates your referring to are the twelve zodiac keys, which are the keys to the most powerful celestial spirts, aside from the celestial king. Though I don't know why this thirteenth key is so important. Maybe Lucy might know."

Before anyone could comment, they heard the celestial wizard call out the thirteenth spirit, Ophiuchus, The Snake Charmer, causing the black key glowing. Suddenly, the sky grew dark as smoke covered the entire arena. To everyone's surprise, a large black snake emerged from the smoke and surrounded the entire arena.

"It's huge!" Yelled Natsu as his mouth dropped to the ground alongside Gray's as everyone saw the massive snake taking up space in the entire arena.

"She said snake charmer! But that looks like an actual snake!" Yelled Gray, fearing for the worst. Though Ragna wasn't phased having taken on Takemikazuchi, who was much larger and powerful than this snake. To his surprise, Kagura looked indifferent and charged at the snake. He then watched as she slashed at the snake with her sheathed sword. To everyone's else surprise, the snake was spilt into three halves. Ragna, despite knowing her sheathed sword art, was still surprised at how effortlessly she cut the snake. He then watched as Kagura pushed the celestial wizard gently to the ground, who was too much in shock to put up much resistance. After a few seconds of gawking, the announcers declared Kagura the winner and that this battle concluded the 2nd day of the tournament.

"Hot dang, I want to fight her so bad now." Said Natsu with a smile as everyone made their way out of the coliseum.

"You say that to all the tough fighters, don't you?" Asked Ragna, making Natsu laugh. He rolled his eyes as he wondered what the next event will be like.

* * *

 **Later that night**

 **Fairy Tail team A inn**

* * *

Ragna was watching the moon as he wondered about his Grimoire, his new guild, and his old world. The Grimoire was in the back of his mind because he already thought about it before. His current thoughts were about who in his old world will fit into Fairy Tail. Most would probably be hostile or indifferent to Fairy Tail or insult them on their ideals, but some would very much like them. His Kagura will probably hit on every single hot chick in Fairy Tail and probably get his ass kicked by Mirajane and Erza for doing so. Noel will fit in perfectly with them, though he suspected that she'll get depressed at seeing so many with large breasts. Taokaka will also probably fit in, her personality will make her fast friends with many of the guild. Makoto will fit in as well as well as Bang. He sighed as he suddenly felt home sick again. He missed those guys, even though most tried to arrest or kill him. Sighing to himself, he walked out of the inn and went to the bar that everyone was in. As he walked to the bar, he spotted Kagura walking alone in the city. Blinking a bit, he went up to her.

"How come you're out alone?' Asked Ragna as he approached the swordswoman. Kagura just turned to him before speaking.

"Simply put, I like to take a walk every now and then." Said Kagura as she motioned for Ragna to follow her. "I must say, you're battle with the Raven Tail female was brief. Is that an indication of your true power?"

"Nah." Said Ragna. "Girl was too weak to be much of a threat to me. Same with your battle?"

"Yes." Said Kagura. "She put up a valiant fight, but ultimately lost." Kagura then looked at the moon, letting it's rays wash over her.

"So, I heard that you didn't enter that whole modeling challenge." Said Ragna. He couldn't believe his ears when Lucy told him that nearly every female in every single guild had participated in the challenge. It was only when the old female master of Lamia Scale put on a swimsuit did it stop. He didn't want to imagine what that old lady looked like and immediately felt bad of everyone that watched it. "Felt that it was stupid?"

"Indeed." Said Kagura. "I couldn't believe my teammates went in. I was only able to stop Millianna from doing it." She then turned to Ragna. "Did you enjoy the show?"

"No, because I didn't see any of it. Left as soon as I saw what kind of battle it was." Said Ragna. Hearing this confession made Kagura raise an eyebrow. She was surprised to hear that Ragna had left the coliseum upon realizing what the battle between Mirajane and Jenny really was. She didn't expect any man to do such a thing. "I'm here to bring Fairy Tail back to number one, not ogle chicks in bikinis." Kagura just smirked at that. Ragna was surprising her even now. She was about to commend him on this when they both heard a scream. The two looked at each other before rushing toward the source. Upon arriving, they were shocked to see a young women being attacked by a...thing. Though Kagura didn't know what it was, Ragna knew it very well. The creature was a black blob of goo with a red outline. It had a white mask with a crude face on it.

 **"No way. Arakune!"** Thought Ragna as he brought out his sword. **"How!? I thought I was the only one that's here in this world."** Before he could contemplate this, the blob turned to the two and charged at them. Dodging the initial attack, Kagura slammed her sword at Arakune, who just turned into separate pieces to avoid the attack. It then looked at Ragna, who was about to attack when it spoke.

"P-p-ple-ase. K-k-ki—ll me." Begged the blob before bring out a boned claw and stabbing itself in the head to no avail, shocking the two wizards. As Ragna was observing this, he noticed something off.

 **"No. This isn't Arakune."** Thought Ragna as he observed this strange behavior. **"This one feels…newer. Like it was made just a few months ago."**

"P-ple-ase. E-end t-this." Begged the blob before charging at Ragna with clawed feet. Ragna just sidestepped before slamming his sword into the blob, actually causing some damage. The blob screamed before launching itself at Ragna. Before it could attack, however, Kagura had immobilized it with her magic. Seeing it immoblized, Ragna used carnage scissors on it. To both his and Kagura's shock, the blob began to disintegrate after the attack and they could have sworn it said thank you. **"Definitely not Arakune. Went down too easily. And it looked like it wanted to die."** Thought Ragna as it the black goo dissipated, leaving only a mask.

"What was that?" Asked Kagura as she went to the young woman, examining her for injuries.

"No idea." Lied Ragna as he picked up the mask. "We should report this."

"Agreed." Said Kagura as she helped the young woman up. "Shall we escort her to the nearest law enforcement building?"

"Right with you." Said Ragna as he carried the mask, following Kagura. Unbeknownst to them, they was being watched by someone. That person chuckled in satisfaction before taking off.

* * *

 **Now who is this mysterious character at the end. Could they be an established character or someone I created? Who knows? Anyway, did I do an adequate job in altering events from canon? Please, tell me in the comment sections your ideas on what to do next.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Wlyman2009- I understand your concern. Rest assured, if anything, most Blazblue characters will remain in their own world/universe. Aside from a few, many that will come to the Fairy Tail world/universe will be temporary and vice versa.**

 **As for who this is, you'll have to find that out as this goes on. It could be an established character or an OC.**

* * *

"Hang on. You're going to be just fine." Said as a medical officer was examining the girl that was attacked by the Arakune lookalike. Her wounds weren't fatal, so she'll survive. Kagura and Ragna, meanwhile, was conversing with a law enforcement officer about the incident.

"So, a black blob of liquid attacked her as well as both of you?" Asked the officer skeptically as he reviewed what the two wizards were saying. "I'm sorry about being a bit skeptical, but this seems a bit too far-fetched. Even more so, when this happened in the capital city.

"While I agree at that, but it's the truth." Said Kagura as she looked at the man. "It could simply be a product of Pict magic. A dark wizard may be in the vicinity."

"That could be a possibility." Said the officer. "The only problem is why would they do it. There's little to no reason to attack her and with so many soldiers, rune knights, and official wizards here, you have to be completely insane to do something like this."

"Or someone really powerful." Commented Ragna as he leaned on his chair. "Either way, this needs to be solved before anyone else gets hurt."

"Agreed." Said the officer. "Maybe we can convince someone from one of your guilds to help us or we could get some Rune knights here. Is it alright if we went for the former?"

"Hmm…I'm not sure my guild master will only our current roster in the tournament to participate in this investigation, but she'll be more then willing to spare the rest from our guilds." Said Kagura. Ragna just did a thumbs-up to indicate Fairy Tail is alright with it as well.

"Alright. We probably won't get much since we don't have any evidence or clues to this case. Or even get the person responsible to this." Said the officer.

"If you, at least try, then that'll be sufficient for me." Said Kagura before getting up and leaving with Ragna in tow. The officer just told them good luck before getting back to work." As they were walking back to their inns, Kagura then spoke to Ragna.

"Are you planning to fight tomorrow?" Asked Kagura as the two were walking to their respectable inns.

"Probably." Said Ragna as he was holding his waist. "Didn't do much today, might as well fight tomorrow. Then again, that depends on how the fans or the officials want them to go down."

"True." Said Kagura as she looked at the moon. "What do you think of the beast that attacked us and the girl?"

"An abomination that needs to be taken down." Said Ragna, remembering all the stuff Arakune did to him and would have likely done if he continued living. He would have killed him long ago, but his promise to Litchi prevented him from doing so. That and his disdain for killing, despite knowing that sometimes it's necessary and unavoidable and that he did it before during his fight with the NOL. "Same with you?"

"Probably." Said Kagura. "I have no objection with killing if the person in question deserves it."

"Really. Thought most mages refuse to kill others, no matter what. You got a different opinion?" Asked Ragna.

"My opinion on the matter deviants a bit from the norm." Said Kagura as she looked at Ragna. "As I said, I'm fine with killing so long as the person in question deserves death. Unnecessary killing is where I draw the line. Most criminals and dark wizards simply deserve being locked up so they can't harm others. But there are some exceptions. Those are the ones I'm fine with ending their lives."

"Same boat." Said Ragna. "Some people just don't deserve to live. Still…kind of against killing a bit."

"Understandable." Said Kagura as the two resumed walking. "Committing murder is a line most wish not to cross. One that no one can come back from." Ragna just nodded, completely agreeing with her.

"So, how come you have this opinion with killing?" Asked Ragna. "Past trauma or need for revenge?" Kagura just stopped and clenched her sword tightly, something that caused Ragna to raise an eyebrow.

"…If you don't mind, I don't wish to speak about it." Said Kagura. "You're someone a consider a friend, but I don't think I'm ready to explain it to you yet."

"Alright." Said Ragna. "Just tell me when you're ready." Kagura nodded gratefully before walking along. Eventually, the two split and said their goodbyes. Upon arriving in his inn, he saw everyone getting riled up over something. "What did I miss?" Upon seeing Ragna, Wendy just smiled and waved. Natsu, a bit anger for some reason, then explained what's going on.

"You know that Sabretooth girl that fought that friend of yours? The one called Yukino?" Asked Natsu. Upon seeing Ragna nod, he continued. "Well, we found her alone. We talked for a bit and she even asked us to give Lucy her keys. We turned them down though because we know that Lucy didn't want to take the bond that she had with her keys. We also learned that her guild had kicked her out and humiliated her."

"What?" Asked Ragna as he narrowed his eyes. This Sabretooth guild was getting worse and worse as he figured out more about them.

"It's true." Said Wendy with a sad tone. "The guild master had her strip in front of her entire guild and remove her guild emblem."

"Disgraceful." Said Carla in a disapproving tone.

"Then Natsu did something incredibly stupid and attacked their hotel." Said Gray, disappointed that he didn't get to join in. Erza didn't comment and just looked at the moon.

"Seriously?" Asked Ragna as he looked at Natsu. "I get that you wanted to make them pay for doing stuff like that, but you could have gotten us disqualified." Said Ragna as he chastised Natsu, despite knowing that he would have probably done the same thing in his shoes. "If you still need to vent, do it in the tournament, bet they'll be plenty of time to do that."

"Yeah, but they still need to be taught a lesson." Said Natsu as he punched his open palm. "They'll regret what they did to Yukino." Ragna just nodded his head, agreeing with Natsu. He just went to his bed and his thoughts went back to the Arakune-like blob. It wasn't possible. No one in this world could have possibly know about Arakune and how he fought. It could have been just a coincidence, but he got the feeling that wasn't the case. The way he looked to the way he spoke and fought was nearly identical to Arakune, except for the fact that it wanted to die. And the material…it could be Ethernano, the source of power for wizards in this world, but it could be Seithr. But…it couldn't be. Could it? Sighing to himself, he then began to black out the noise Natsu was making with his newly started pillow fight. Meanwhile, two individuals were looking at the Inn where Fairy Tail team A resided in.

"Do it." Said one of the individuals. The other nodded before taking off.

* * *

 **The next day**

* * *

"Wow." Said Ragna as he saw Erza take down all the monsters in a giant floating castle. After defeating the last one, she raised her sword in victory.

"She's amazing, isn't she." Said Wendy with a smile. Natsu and Grey just smiled or smirked in response. Ragna just nodded. She would defiantly give his Kagura a challenge. After that amazing performance, the rest of the participants were given a more boring challenge since Erza wasn't expected to destroy all the monsters in the castle. The challenge was straight forward. Hit a magic power measuring device with all they got. The one with the highest score will get 2nd place. After watching people get lower scores than Millianna, who started the whole thing, Ragna, along with everyone else, was shocked to see the Sabretooth guy, a large man with lighting magic, earn a score ten times Millianna's. They were even more surprised to see Jura get an even better score, though Ragna supposed he should have expected the man get such a high score. But what he didn't suspect was Cana, a card mage, use one of the Grand Fairy Spells, one of three Great magics exclusive to Fairy Tail that required massive magic power and concentration to properly wield, against the reader, completely destroying it and earning her the top score. As everyone gawked at the display, Cana began to boast about Fairy Tail making a comeback.

"Well, that was certainly something." Said Ragna as everyone began to smirk or smile at people cheering Fairy Tail on.

"Yes." Said Erza. "Though she didn't need to use the Fairy glitter."

"Yup." Said Ragna before taking off. "Got to use the bathroom. Come and find me if my name is called." A few minutes later, after using the bathroom, Ragna was looking at his Grimoire after making sure no one was around. His new one, anyway. After killing Terumi for good, he obtained the true Blazblue, the Azure Flamed Grimoire. With it, he managed to restore his world and it's possibilities. Looking at it, he wondered about the Grimoire and how different it is to his old one, a pale imitation of it. It was certainly more powerful, that he could feel as it coursed through him, but he wondered if it had more drawbacks than his original. Maybe that's why it went a bit rampart with Flare. It could respond to emotions more violently that his original Grimoire. Or maybe something else is going on with it. After covering it up and putting back on his jacket, Ragna left the bathroom and left for the coliseum. As he was walking, he suddenly hit an invisible forcefield. Swearing a bit, Ragna tapped the hallway and saw that a forcefield was indeed blocking his way. He then narrowed his eyes when he heard footsteps and some gurgling. Turning around, he saw an individual coming over to him. The individual was uniquely dressed, at least for this world. His, at least Ragna thought it was a he, outfit consisted of leather armor over chain mail, a long cloak, and a tricorne. The face was obscured by a collar and a mask. His weapons were a large great sword and a crooked dagger. With him were four Arakune look-alikes. Some begging for death while others were silent.

"Who the hell are you?" Asked Ragna as he brought out his sword. The individual just stayed silent before placing the dagger-wielding arm over the one holding the great sword. "Alright then, let's tango since I doubt that those are props." The man just stayed silent again before charging at Ragna in a blink of an eye. Before he could process anything, the man was in front of Ragna and slammed his sword at his chest, making a large gash.

"Gah! Damn you." Yelled Ragna before punching the man away. The man hit the wall as a result, causing a massive dent in the stone wall. Instead of being knocked unconscious, the man simply got up and cracked his neck to release some tension on it.

"Tch. Tougher than you look, huh?" Commented Ragna as his Azure Grimoire began to heal his wound. The man simply charged again. This time ready for his speed, Ragna deflected his assault as the two exchanged blow after blow against each other. As they were fighting, Ragna realized the man wasn't using his crooked dagger for anything. Just his sword. As the fight dragged on, he then realized, to his surprise, that the man was using the dagger as a fulcrum for his fighting style, which revolved around wide swings and speed backed up by an unpredictable, almost animalistic movement. An example is that he constantly twitched and moved like a rapid dog while also having the sharp eye of an eagle. All his moves, while wild, were carefully made. Nothing was too much. Such precision meant that Ragna was dealing with a smart opponent and that he had to be careful around him.

" **Alright, this needs to end soon or else someone will stumble upon this and get hurt."** Though Ragna as he jumped in the air and used Belial Edge on his opponent, who dodged before Ragna's sword landed on the ground where he used to be. The man then charged at Ragna, sword at the ground, creating sparks, before swiping his sword at Ragna's legs. Seeing the attack coming in time, Ragna jumped out of the way before slamming his sword at the man's back. The man stumbled a bit, but just shrugged off the attack and looked at Ragna, who was surprised at this as his sword went in too deep for anyone human to survive.

" **This guy isn't human."** Though Ragna as the man charged at him, this time jumping into the air and slamming his sword at Ragna, who blocked it with his own sword. As the two were in a dead lock, the Arakune rip-offs charged at Ragna. Sensing them approaching, Ragna kicked the man in the knees as hard as he could. As the man was recovering from the sudden kick to the knees, Ragna swiped his sword in it's scythe form at the Arakune rip-offs, slicing them into pieces. As the blobs were reconstructing themselves, the man in leather armor engaged Ragna again, clashing blades with him.

"Are you serious!?" Yelled Ragna as the two were in a dead lock again. "Stay the hell down!" The man simply stayed silent before using his dagger at Ragna, trying to stab him in the gut. However, sensing danger, Ragna pushed the man away before transforming his Azure Grimoire hand into a large dark red and black claw. He then tried to grab the man, only for him to dodge the attack and get a hit on his leg. Ragna growled in annoyance before firing a dead spike at the man, the head-shaped projectile speeding toward him. The man just slammed his sword at the projectile destroying it, only to realize that Ragna was closing in, using the projectile as a distraction. Before he could do anything, the man watched as Ragna slashed at his armor, creating a large slash mark. The man leaped back before Ragna could attack more, allowing Ragna to see what was under the armor via the slash mark he made. To his shock, Ragna saw that the man had dark as night skin and no visible damage on him, despite the blade going through his "flesh". In fact his skin looked almost like….

" **Can't be."** Thought Ragna as he watched the man looking at Ragna. **"Is this guy made out of Seithr?!"** Before he could contemplate it more, the man launched a projectile at Ragna, using a technique similar to his own, except the man slammed his sword to the ground rather than swinging his sword upward. The projectile was a wave of dark energy that was approaching Ragna rapidly. Getting out of his stupor, Ragna launched himself out of the way just as the wave of energy was about to hit him. Unfortunately, it was then, that the Arakune-like clones then charged at Ragna, who was in the middle of dodging the wave of dark energy. The Arakune doppelgangers were able to dogpile into Ragna and were beginning to suffocate him. As this was happening, the man was about to step in when he suddenly stopped. A few seconds passed before the man began to leave in a hurry. Meanwhile, the Arakune clones were about to fully suffocate Ragna when they suddenly began to glow brightly. Just as suddenly, they exploded in a bright flash, leaving Ragna on the ground, coughing a bit. **  
**

" ***coughs*** Damnit. Those guys are defiantly like Arakune. In the smell and creepy department." Said Ragna as he watched the black sludges that used to the Arakune clones begin to dissipate. Ragna then looked around for the man that came with the Arakune clones. "Chickened out, huh? Or maybe he had something better to do." He then sighed before walking to the barriers to figure out how to get free. To his surprise, the barrier was gone when he tried to feel for it again in the area where he was sure it was in. As he was walking away, Ragna thought about the man that he had fought against.

"If he's really made of Seithr, then what the hell is going on." Said Ragna as he was walking back.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

* * *

Noel was tapping her fingers as she wondered about the strange man that keeps appearing in her dreams as well as Lambda's. While tapping her fingers, she was starring absently at a drawing that she made based on her dreams.

"Who are you?" Asked Noel as she looked at the man's handsome face. It was at the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't figure out who this man is or his name. She was about to call it a day when she heard some banging from Nu's room. Concerned, Noel rushed to Nu's room. Once there, she gasped in shock as she saw a masked man in leather armor holding Nu over his shoulders. Before she could do anything, the man brought out a letter, threw it at her, before taking off, crashing through the window and making his escape. Just then, Lambda barged in.

"What happened?" Asked Lambda upon seeing the room. Noel just stood gawking before breaking out of her stupor and looking at the letter that was thrown at her. Cautious, she unraveled it and read it. After finishing it, Noel was shaking in her nun outfit, both out of fear and anger. Breathing in and out, Noel turned toward Lambda.

"Lambda, if you want to come, come along. I'm going to Kagutsuchi." Said Noel before going to her room. A bit shocked, Lambda followed Noel to her room.

"What is troubling you, Noel?" Asked Lambda as she watched Noel bring out some normal clothing. "You're body temperature is at a higher than normal temperature and your emotions are a mix of sadness and anger." She knew this based on how Noel's body language was acting. Noel just sighed before looking at Lambda in sadness.

"An old friend of mine had just kidnaped our sister, Lambda." Said Noel. "And he's going to do unspeakable things to her if we don't get help and save her." She then took Lambda's hands. "So please, if you don't want to help, that's fine. I can go on my own. Someone needs to take care of the church, anyway." Just as she was about to let go, Lambda made Noel look at her in the eye.

"Our sister if in danger." Said Lambda. "It would be awful of me to not help her if she is in danger. Let us go together." Noel just smiled before hugging Lambda, who returned it rather awkwardly. After sometime of packing, the two were venturing to Kagutsuchi. As they were walking, Noel couldn't help but think.

" **Why Carl?"** thought Noel. **"Why are you doing this?** Unbeknownst to the two, they were being spied on by a man in a cloak, covering his entire body. As he was watching them, the man began to laugh.

"Everything is being set in motion. It'll take sometime, but it'll be worth it in the end. And they all don't know that they're all being used by me." Said the man before walking off, a single thought in his mind.

" **You will soon see, Grim Reaper. That everything you fought for here and in that world will be for naught."**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **RedBurningDragon- It's not Terumi or Hazama, I assure you. Also, yeah, expect some Dark Souls designs in my fics (The ones that would have some sense in having that stuff) as I love that franchise. It won't be a true crossover, just some designs taken or being based from that franchise. (Just to be safe. Disclaimer: I don't own Dark souls.)**

 **Wlyman2209- Really? Huh. I always assumed that because he let Arakune live (Though that was probably due to Litchi begging not to.) and him not killing Hazama/Terumi at Continuum Shift (Not that he could because of the life link between Hazama and Noel.). That and the Wiki stated that he disdained killing. (Then again that stuff can be unreliable at times.). Ah well, I always assumed he disliked killing. Maybe I was wrong. Oh well.**

* * *

"You serious?" Asked Ragna as he listened to Erza's explanation about what happened after he left. Right after he came back, he was the military taking away the Raven Tail team away, which confused him, causing Erza to explain. Apparently Raven Tail had cheated during their match with Fairy Tail by using every member against Laxus. Laxus beat them all with little effort, so much so that he said it was pathetically easy. As a result of this, the Grand Magic Games staff decided to remove Raven Tail from the games.

"Yeah." Said Natsu, pouting because Laxus had done it all by himself and didn't include him. "That glory-hog." Erza just rolled her eyes at that and looked at Ragna.

"You've been gone for quite a while. Something happened?" Asked Erza. Ragna then closed his eyes, remembering that armored man that fought him just a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, but that's for the master." Said Ragna. "You guys can listen in if you like. Don't feel like repeating myself."

"It would be appreciated." Said Erza. "But right now, the remainder of the games are going on right now. You won't mind if your explanation being put on hold?"

"It's fine." Said Ragna as he watched the current match, which was Wendy versus some little girl from Lamia Scale. "Guys know anything about this girl?"

"Nope." Said Erza. "But apparently, she's a powerhouse."

"If she is, I hope that I can fight her." Said Natsu with excitement.

"Not cool, man." Said Gray, a bit annoyed at Natsu's eagerness to fight someone, even if its someone as young as the Lamia Scale girl. The two started to argue, before being quickly stopped by Erza, who wanted to watch Wendy's match with as much quiet as possible. The match soon started. As the fight went on, the girl from Lamia Scale, named Chelia, had surprised them when she started to use sky god-slayer magic, a form of magic that was thought to be lost forever along with the other forms of god slayer magic. Ragna just crossed his arms as the battle dragged out.

"Guys know anything about this god slayer magic?" Asked Ragna.

"A bit." Said Erza. "It's a form of magic that has similar properties to dragon slayer magic, but it's been said to be superior to it."

"As if!" Scoffed Natsu. "I took on a fire god-slayer before and I beat the crap out of him! They're not as tough as us dragon-slayers!" Ragna just rose an eyebrow at that.

"That right?" Asked Ragna.

"It's true." Said Erza. "Wendy told me of his encounter. Natsu struggled a bit,"

"Hey!" Whined Natsu, pouting a bit.

"But he managed to defeat him and, according to master, he managed to gain the power of his opponent before defeating him." Finished Erza. Natsu just made a grin at that, giving a thumbs-up.

"So, you're saying that Wendy can do the same with this girl?" Asked Ragna as he watched the two fought on.

"Course she can!" Yelled Natsu before cheering Wendy on. "Show her how dragon-slayers handle things, Wendy!" Ragna just sighed before going back to spectating the battle. Eventually the battle ended when Wendy managed to take out Chelia with one hit, though it took a lot of her magic power to do so. The announcer was about to declare her the victor when suddenly Chelia got up, using her magic to heal herself.

"She can heal her-self!?" Exclaimed Erza in shock.

"What's the problem?" Asked Ragna in confusion. "Can't Wendy do the same?"

"No, she can't." Said Erza. "She can only heal others, not herself."

"Which is bad news for her cause this girl looks like she was back up to full strength." Said Gray, seeing that the girl was all cheerful and looks completely fine. "Damn Leon. Should have known he pulled something like this."

"Quit your complaining, Wendy's got this." Said Natsu, not letting this turn of events from deterring his belief that Wendy will win. Ragna gave a grunt of approval before watching the match continue. It was a vicious fight, with both Chelia and Wendy both exhausted since Chelia's healing ability didn't do anything for one's stamina or endurance. Eventually the fight ended when the time ran out and both participants scored only five points for their teams. Looking at his teammates, Ragna saw that everyone was smiling and commending Wendy for her hard work, something that he agreed on. She performed well for a girl her age. As that match was the final one for the day, the announcers told everyone to leave and be prepared for tomorrow. With that, everyone began to leave the stadium for their inns or homes. As he was walking, Ragna thought back to that weird man he fought a while ago. He wasn't sure, but it looked like the man was made out of Seithr.

" **Could that even be possible?"** Thought Ragna. **"Might be. Never seen it though."** He wondered if this world has Seithr in it. If so, that would explain how he could use his Azure Grimoire with no problem. If not, then he had no idea how he can still use his powers without Seithr or why that man looked like he was made of Seithr. Maybe his Grimoire adapted or something to use Ethernano, instead of Seithr. And maybe that guy was just made through Ethernano. He heard that Zeref had created his demons with Ethernano, so it could be the case with this guy. Though he had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't the case.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

Ragna was tapping his foot as he waited for Makarov to come back from whatever he needed to do. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, he couldn't speak to Makarov about his fight with the Arakune clones and that man that was with him before it was late at night. And to annoy him further, when he had gotten the chance to talk to him, he just left with Laxus, his grandson, for some important meeting. Sighing in exasperation, he decided to wait for him to finish whatever he had to do. As he waited, he looked to see Natsu picking a fight with Gray while everyone else was cheering about how good they did today or trying to stop them from thrashing the bar they were all in. He chuckled a bit as he saw Juvia fangirl over Gray, telling him he did great in today, despite him not doing anything today.

" **What a crazy guild this is."** Thought Ragna as he watched everyone fool around and damage private property. **"But I guess it's my crazy guild."** Having enough of all this commotion, Ragna went outside to wait for Makarov, knowing that he'll be coming here for a drink or two. With the noise level down significantly, Ragna looked up at the moon. Gazing at it, he wondered if his old world is doing okay, that his sacrifice actually meant something. He shook his head at that, knowing that it did and that everyone had the power to decide their own fate rather than it being determined for them. He was about to delve on the topic more when suddenly he heard footsteps. Turning his head, he saw a hooded figure approaching him. One with pink hair. Sighing, he yelled out.

"What do you want, Meredy?" Asked Ragna. The figure just chuckled before taking off their hood, revealing it to be Meredy.

"Nothing much." Said Meredy. "Just wanted to speak to you."

"About something important, no doubt." Said Ragna. Meredy just sighed before turning serious.

"Yes." Said Meredy. "We detected some strange magic coming inside the coliseum. Jellal went to investigate, but…he encountered someone that got in his way. The two fought, fiercely I might add, but Jellal lost. We only noticed when our connection to him was lost. Ultear and I investigated and saw a man in leather armor about to slice Jellal's head off. But when he saw us, he took off and ran." Once she was finished, Ragna's eyes were wide open.

"Did this man had a pointed helmet with a giant sword and a curved knife?" Asked Ragna. Meredy looked surprised at this before nodding her head. "Great. So, there's more than one." Ragna then explained to Meredy what happened to him, believing Crime Sorcière deserved to know. When he finished, Meredy looked shocked.

"So, you encountered a similar man to the one that Jellal fought?" Asked Meredy.

"Yup, if it happened in the same time, then yeah." Said Ragna. "Had some magic that prevented me from escaping. And the guy fought real hard. It was like he was an animal with some of the moves he pulled off."

"And this man had help?" Asked Meredy.

"Yup. Blobs of black matter with white masks." Said Ragna, leaving out the fact that they looked like Arakune. He wasn't ready to explain that yet and his origins. "Damn things jumped me so that guy can escape." Meredy sighed to herself.

"Our job got a whole lot complicated now." Said Meredy. "We'll keep an eye out for these men as well as those blobs."

"Is Jellal okay?" Asked Ragna, wondering about the blue-haired man.

"He is." Said Meredy. "Though he won't be able to do anything for awhile. Ultear is patching him up now. Until he's back up and ready for action, I'll be taking over Jellal's job of talking with you guys."

"Got it." Said Ragna. "Anything we should know?"

"Only that we haven't found that magic power that comes from Zeref." Said Meredy. "It's trick to find. We had some suspects, but they're not the ones."

"Damn thing is slippery." Said Ragna.

"That it is." Said Meredy. She then smiled at Ragna. "Well, that's all I have." She then raised her hood back on. "Hope to see you do well tomorrow."

"Will do." Said Ragna as he watched her leave. A few minutes after she left, Makarov and Laxus were coming back to the bar, seemingly exhausted. Seeing the master, Ragna walked over.

"Hey old man, we need to talk." Said Ragna. Makarov just waved his hand.

"Do it after I have a drink or two." Said Makarov. "I'm beat." Ragna just rose an eyebrow as the two men entered the bar.

"What made you two exhausted?" Said Ragna before going in, cursing slightly at the fact that Makarov would probably be too drunk to listen in on what he had to say. Oh well, might as well tell his team so they can spread the word themselves.

* * *

 **The next day**

* * *

"Seriously?" Asked Ragna as he saw Lucy in her swimming suit. "She's doing this challenge?"

"Hey!" Said Lucy, a bit offended.

"No offense, but why?" Asked Ragna.

"Well, the challenge seems to involve water in some way, so we thought that, since Lucy has a water spirit in her possession, that she would be a better pick than any of us." Explained Erza. Feeling that was an acceptable answer, Ragna just closed his eyes and shrugged. Better than him doing it.

"I guess that's okay." Said Ragna before looking at Lucy. "Good luck."

"No problem." Said Lucy with a smile. "I'm going to score big in this challenge." With that Lucy left with everyone beside Erza and Ragna, who stayed behind to talk.

"Think your friend will come again today?" Asked Erza, remembering the conversation the team and Ragna had about his encounter with a mysterious swordsman yesterday. They were surprised to hear about this and even more so when he told them that there was another one that attacked Jellal who tried to investigate. When Ragna mentioned that Jellal was seriously injured fighting it, he noted that a look of worry was made by Erza. As a way to comfort her, he told her that Meredy assured him that Jellal will recover, which relieved Erza greatly. After the explanation, the group decided to pass the information to the proper authorities, the GMG staff, as well as their guild and the others. Unfortunately, they couldn't spread the word to others last night besides themselves due to it being so late. So, they had to do it today, which was taken care of by Erza. To her annoyance, all she had gotten from the staff was that they'll tighten security around the GMG and that the military will investigate.

"Don't doubt it." Said Ragna as the two walked to the coliseum. "If they're strong enough to fight with me for a time and take out Jellal, I'm guessing they're not worried about some military squads."

"True." Said Erza, knowing full well that the military isn't cut out with fighting opponents of that scale. Not without overwhelming numbers on their side. "But I doubt that they'll do anything now that the military is on high alert. It would be foolhardy to do anymore attacks during the Grand Magic Games now that the military is notified about them."

"I guess." Said Ragna as they entered the arena. "Still got to be prepared in case they do." Erza just nodded as the two watched Lucy participate in the challenge. Gray and Natsu waved in greeting as they watched the challenge. Wendy wasn't around due to Lucy taking her place for the challenge. The event went on smoothly enough, with a few surprises here and there, like Juvia holding her own and even nearly beating Lucy's water spirit, who soon fled after a short tussle with Juvia, leaving Lucy all alone. To make up for this, she summoned two more spirits to help fend off attacks from the other contestants, who were all female after the only male was taken out by a cheap kick by Jenny, but due to them not being suited for underwater combat, the two spirits were forced to just defend their master rather than attack. Eventually the contestants were all eliminated except for two, which were Lucy and the Sabertooth girl. A woman by the name of Minerva. Ragna heard about her from his guild and from locals. She, along with four other wizards, the reason Sabertooth was so powerful and considered the top guild in Fiore. This group were the same people that were participating in the tournament for their guild, which meant Sting was one of Sabertooth's most powerful guys.

" **Tch. That guy being their strongest? What a joke."** Thought Ragna as his thoughts went to Yukino, the girl that was in the Sabertooth team before Minerva, who took her place after her dismissal from her guild. He wondered where she was now and if she was alright. These thoughts only stopped when he heard Lucy screaming out in pain. He snapped out of his thoughts to see Lucy being peperred with some sort of light that engulfed the entire sphere of water that the challenge was being done in, which was floating above the coliseum.

"What's going on?" Asked Ragna.

"I don't know." Said Erza in shock. "I never seen this type of magic before."

"Me neither." Said Gray as everyone looked in shock at the carnage. "Must be some lost magic or something." It was then that they all realized that Minerva was holding her keys, meaning that Lucy was defenseless now. Gray just gritted his teeth at that. "And to make matters worse, Lucy doesn't have her keys with her now. Meaning this fight is all but over."

"Don't say that, Gray, she can still win this!" Said Natsu. Ragna was about to comment when they all heard Lucy making a speech about not giving up and surrendering to Minerva, using the excuse that it would be worse than betrayal to her guild because of how hard her guildmates have been doing in this tournament. She then ended the speech by saying that Fairy Tail will be number one again, which somewhat shocked Minerva and impressing Ragna. Her tenacity, while foolish, was something that he can respect and relate to, given how he refused to give up, even with the odds stacked against him. This however, changed to shock when Minerva donned a demonic look before beginning a merciless assault on Lucy, claiming that this was what Lucy deserved for defying her.

"What the hell is going on!?" Demanded Ragna as he saw this happening. He and his teammates then watched to see Minerva teleporting Lucy in front of her whenever she nearly got out of the sphere before attacking her again and again. "Damn bitch. She's torturing her!" They then looked to the Sabertooth team, who all looked nonchalant of the assault aside from one, which drew faces of disgust and anger from the Fairy Tail guild.

"They're all going to pay for this!" Swore Natsu as he clenched his fists in anger. A statement that was well in line with what everyone on the Fairy Tail team was thinking. Ragna stooped looking at the Sabertooth team in disgust to focus on Minerva and Lucy. As Lucy was being assaulted on without mercy, Ragna couldn't help but feel disgust for Minerva. She wasn't as bad as Terumi or Relius, but god damn did he want to punch her lights out right now for attacking someone who couldn't fight back and was severely wounded already. Having enough of this, Ragna climbed on top of the platform his team was in before jumping toward the ball of water that the challenge was taking place, which was floating in the air. He got in with no resistance and before anyone could do anything, he put a lot of power to his right arm before throwing it to the two girls.

" **Hope I can do this right!"** Thought Ragna before stopping near the girls. Without warning, he threw another punch at Minerva, who had to stop her assault on Lucy to dodge the attack, which gave Ragna the chance to grab Lucy and get out of there, using the force of his punch to swiftly get out of the sphere. Unfortunately, Minerva just simply teleported them in front of her and she was about to attack them both when the bell suddenly rung, forcing her to stop less she be punished for attacking a contestant outside of a challenge. Before she left, she gave Ragna a look of contempt for saving Lucy and probably for something else, which was followed by a look of contempt of Ragna himself.

" **Save it for people that actually give a damn, bitch."** Thought Ragna before bringing Lucy out of the sphere and to Wendy, who was one her way to heal her with Chelia. As he laid her down, he saw Erza speaking with Minerva, obviously about her actions. Things then escalated when the Sabertooth team came out of the stand to confront Erza and the rest of Fair Tail team A, all itching for a fight. Erza, however, wasn't up for it yet and told her team to stand down. Instead, she just warned Sabertooth that they'll pay for what they did to Lucy soon enough. As he watched things settle down, he saw Natsu coming over to see how Lucy was, causing Ragna to raise an eyebrow. **"Could it be. Probably."** Thought Ragna as he watched Natsu look at Lucy in worry. **"Just like me and Noel and Rachel. Damn. I miss those headaches."** With that, Ragna began to help Lucy up with the help of Natsu once Wendy said that she was okay to be escorted to the infirmary.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Mercurius**

* * *

Unknown to many, a green haired and eyed woman was watching all this happen with a cloaked individual that obscured what he looked like.

"See, princess Hisui." Said the cloaked figure in a masculine voice. "I was correct in that he would save her. If that doesn't believe you, then allow me to give you more information about the future." He then began to chuckle. "Sorry. The tag-team matches will have the Fairy Tail teams merging together and them beating the Sabertooth dragon-slayers with their own. Not only that, but Fairy Tail will win the entire tournament with just 11 points and no team members lost from the last event. If all that will come true, will you believe me?" The princess just looked at the cloaked individual.

"If they do…then I'll believe you." Said Hisui. "And I'll do what I can to prevent the terrible future that you say will come to pass from occurring." She couldn't see his face, but she swore that he smiled at that.

"That's all I ask, princess." Said the individual before leaving. He only stopped when the princess called him out.

"May I ask for you're name?" Asked the princess. The figure just shook his head no before leaving her alone. Once alone, the figure began to chuckle.

"This is far too easy." Said the figure as he walked away.

* * *

 **Sorry if this is short and that Lucy was the one that took the water challenge. To my defense, the contestant are given the name of the challenge prior to it beginning and they have to decide if one of their team members or some other from their guild will do it. So since the name was Naval battle, I would assume they would have sent in wizards with water magic or some spirit involving water over those with swords or wind if they were available. (At least logically and it would be something I would do.) A weak excuse I know, I'm sorry.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **Wlyman2009- That's not Hazama. That's actually Hisui.**

 **RedBurningDragon- Probably in the final day of the tournament**

 **This would have been updated sooner, but I was out of the States and had some Wi-fi problems for the past few days.**

* * *

"Those damn bastards are going to pay for this!" Swore Natsu as he gripped Lucy's bed frame. Ragna and everyone else just stayed silent, though they all agreed with him. Minerva took things too far. Lucy could have died if Minerva continued her assault a little while longer. To their annoyance and anger, the officials have done nothing against team Sabertooth, only giving them a warning.

"It's alright, Natsu." Said Lucy as she clutched her keys, afraid that they'll be taken away again. "I was just too weak."

"No, you did well, Lucy." Said Erza with a smile. "Don't beat yourself up over this." Lucy smiled at the kind words but buried her face on her keys. Before anyone could say anything, Makarov came in.

"I'm afraid that I have some bad news." Said Makarov. "On account of Raven Tail being disqualified from the tournament, the community responsible for the tournament has asked us to disband our two teams in order to even the participating teams." Everyone gasped at that.

"Why the heck would they do that?" Asked Gray, crossing his arms.

"It's because it would be too awkward for there to be an uneven number of teams. One team will have to fight twice as a result, which could give them an unfair advantage." Explained Makarov.

"What about points?" Asked Ragna.

"Well, they're only allowing us to keep the lowest score we have, which is from Fairy Tail team B, which is 36." Said Makarov.

"Still a bit unfair to me." Said Laxus, crossing his arms.

"Eh, wise up!" Said Cana with a smile. "At least we can make an even stronger team than before!"

"That may be so, but that means we lost first place to Sabertooth and they'll be itching to hold that position as much as possible." Said Erza.

"Agreed." Said Ragna. "So, who should be in this team?"

"Obviously, it'll be me, Erza, and Gray!" Yelled Natsu. "We're going to avenge Lucy!"

"And I'm going to participate too." Said Gajeel. "No matter what you guys say." Everyone then looked at Makarov, who was contemplating on who should be the fifth member. Eventually, he pointed at Ragna, who simply shrugged.

"Alright." Said Ragna. "Guess I'll be the fifth guy."

"Do your best!" Said Mirajane, cheerfully as everyone said good luck, even Laxus. With that everyone was walking out, ready for whatever the tournament will throw at them. As he walked, Ragna looked at his Azure Grimoire. He wondered if he should use it at the tournament. To show Sabertooth that Fairy Tail is going to beat them. He soon decided against it, believing that it would be overkill. He honestly didn't think anything in this world will force him to use it, aside from this Acnologia.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Later**

* * *

Meredy was humming to herself as she watched the battle between Quatro Cerberus and Blue Pegasus. So far, no trace of that dark magic power that they detected before in previous years was being emitted from anywhere in Crocus. She knew that there was a dark presence here because of Jellal being injured the other day as well as her and Ultear detecting a presence similar to Zeref in the coliseum. She hoped that this year will be the day that they find the source and stop it before it could do any harm. Later on, she watched as Natsu and Gajeel duke it out with the twin dragons of Sabertooth, intent on gaining payback for Lucy. Cheering silently, she hoped that they would win. Ever since their rise to glory, Meredy watched with distaste as they showed off their accomplishment as proof that they're superior to the other guilds and that they were unbeatable. She also knew that they got rid of their weakest members should they ever fail in even the smallest of way, just to uphold that arrogance. She hoped that Fairy Tail would kick them down a notch. They needed it as they're behavior was dangerously close to those of a dark guilds'. Moving on, her eyes went over to Ragna and smiled.

Though the man didn't participate much in the tournament, the times he did showed off how powerful he is. And his saving of Lucy showed his kindness and willingness to help those in need. It was admirable. He was the kind of person that this world needs more of. She was about to resume watching when she felt the dark presence again. Looking around the coliseum, she saw a cloaked figure watching the battle. Blinking at the figure's chosen attire, Meredy walked over there. As she got closer, she felt the dark presence grow stronger, making her suspicious.

" **Are you the one we've been seeking?"** Thought Meredy as she walked to the figure. Unfortunately, as she was walking toward the figure, the stadium suddenly shook as the four combatants in the arena blew a hole down in the arena, making her fall to the ground due to the shockwaves. Getting up, she looked in shock at the destruction caused by the dragon-slayers. "Damnit. Why are all dragon-slayers, besides Wendy, so destructive?" Whispered Meredy as she resumed her walk toward the figure. As she was nearing the figure, the figure saw her and began to walk away, trying to get away. Not having it, Meredy picked up her pace and began pursuing the figure. Unknown to them, a figure was watching with interest before following them. Meanwhile, Ragna was getting impressed at seeing such power. Though, no where as powerful as his master Jubei or Hakumen, he was still sure that Natsu can put up a good fight against people like Bang or his Kagura. His and Gajeel's ability to endure that blast from the two Sabertooth dragon-slayers speaks about their durability. He would have continued watching when he sensed something wrong. At first, he ignored it, but it began to grow stronger, making him narrow his eyes. Looking around the coliseum. He saw two cloaked figures leave the arena.

"Man." Said Ragna before going away, catching everyone's attention.

"Something wrong?" Asked Erza with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah." Said Ragna. "You two stay here and keep an eye out for trouble."

"Your friend from before?" Asked Gray, thinking it was the weird swordsman from before.

"Probably." Said Ragna as he took off. The two fairy tail mages looked at each other before going back to watch the fight. As Ragna made his way in the inner workings of the coliseum, he wondered what that sense of wrong was about. Hoping that it wasn't anything too bad, Ragna began to walk to where the strange sense he had was becoming stronger. Eventually, he heard a gasp of recognition and shock, making him rush to where it originated from. Turning the corner, he saw Meredy holding her mouth in shock, her eyes widen in recognition upon seeing a clocked figures face. With their back toward him, he couldn't see, but Ragna assumed it was someone she knew. Walking toward them, Ragna was about to yell out for them when suddenly he tensed up. "Get down!" Yelled Ragna as he dashed toward the two, pushing them down. Just in time as a sword nearly decapitated the two. Looking around, Ragna spotted a man wearing the same armor as the one that attacked him sometime ago. "God damnit. Again." He then brought out his weapon and got ready for a fight when the man looked at Ragna and the two woman. Seeing that he was outnumbered, the man quickly fled the area. "Not so fast, you bastard!" Ragna then chased after the man.

"Wait, Ragna!" Yelled Meredy, but he was already gone. Sighing to herself, she then looked at the cloaked figure, only to see them trying to get away. "Not so fast." Said Meredy as she grabbed their cloak. "You're going to explain to me why you look so similar to Lucy." She then glared as the figure turned around to reveal an exact look alike of Lucy. To her surprise, she was crying.

"Meredy. Please listen to me. There's something that you need to know." Said the Lucy look alike.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

* * *

Ragna was chasing down the armored man as he found an exit and ventured to the city.

" **Damn, he's fast."** Thought Ragna as he pursued him. If he made it to the city, it'll be a miracle to find him. As he approached the edges of the city, the masked figure jumped to the nearest building, a height that should be impossible for a normal person as the building in question was three-stories tall. Clicking his tongue at this, Ragna jumped in pursuit and resumed chase. The chase went on for sometime before the figure decided enough was enough and stood his ground, swinging his sword as Ragna came at him. Dodging in time to avoid the sword swing, Ragna brought out his own and sent a wave of energy at the figure, who jumped to avoid the attack. Turning to face Ragna, the two charged at each other, swords at the ready. The two swords clashed as the two swordsmen starred down at each other, one with an impassive look while the other looked with determination. Determined to figure out who this was and who they worked for. Eventually, the two backed of and resumed to cross blades again. As they fought, Ragna saw that this one fought like the one that he faced earlier. He fought with animalistic movements and wide swings. He also carried a crooked dagger that he used as a fulcrum, just like the other one. Only this time, this man was launching dark waves of energy at him more, using them as a distraction before going in. Ragna dodged them all and retaliated with a hell's fang, using it to get closer to him before swinging his sword at the man. To his shock, the man used his dagger to slightly deflect the blow while he docked underneath the deflected blade and used his own sword to score a hit on Ragna's leg. Wincing at the attack, Ragna clicked his tongue at the attack before kicking the man with his other leg. As the man hit the ground some distance away from him due to the strength of the attack, Ragna brandished his sword.

" **Alright, no more mister nice guy. Time to get a bit serious."** Thought Ragna before rushing toward the guy as he got up. Before the man could fully recover, Ragna jumped up and slammed his sword at the man, causing him to fall to the ground, creating a crater on the roof they were on top of. He then grabbed the man and extended his sword's blade at his face, inadvertently showcasing his durability as his head was still intact from the massive blade hitting him like a car. Ragna then threw slammed him on the ground before slamming his sword once again on the man's back. After that, Ragna turned the guy around and saw that he was still conscious, albeit a weakened state. Grabbing the man by the scuff of his neck, Ragna made him look him in the eye.

"Alright, tell me who you are?" Demanded Ragna as the man looked at him with red eyes. The man just stayed silent as he starred at Ragna as if he was a child. Sighing at the man's refusal to speak, Ragna let him go before forcing his hands behind his back. "Well, let's see if you can keep the silent attitude with the authorities." He then led him out of the roof and into the streets of Crocus. As they walked to the nearest police station, people gave the two a look of curiosity and wonder. Wondering why a member of Fairy Tail was out here, escorting an armored man, when they have a tournament to compete, especially since the said member of Fairy Tail was one of their best in the tournament right now. Ragna just ignored the stares as he escorted the man to the station. Once they made it to the station, Ragna instantly told the nearest officer to lock the man up.

"This guy tried to commit murder at the coliseum while the matches were going on. Did it in the halls, where nearly everyone was watching the event." Explained Ragna as he handed the armored figure to the police officer. "Can you hold him while I go back to my guild hall?"

"Uh…I guess, but we need proof that he tried to commit murder, sir." Said the officer as the armored figure just stayed silent, unnerving the officer along with several others with how he stayed silent and the mysterious aura around him. "I mean we can interrogate and hold him for awhile, but we can't keep him indefinitely."

"Don't worry. I'll get the person he tried to murder to testify." Said Ragna. "Just keep him until then." The police officer sighed before speaking.

"Alright." Said the officer. "Just do it before tomorrow morning. We got to release him then." Ragna just nodded before waving good bye. As he left, the masked figure looked at Ragna's retreating figure.

"Well, sorry about this, but we need to escort you to a cell." Said the officer as he led the figure to a cell. After placing the man in the cell, the officer let out an apology. "If you're innocent, we'll let you out with an apology." The man just stayed silent, unnerving the officer as he starred at the wall. Meanwhile, a hooded figure chuckled as he watched Ragna leave the station. This was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Besides, he needed a live test for that function anyway.

* * *

 **Later**

* * *

"So, you handed the man over to the police?" Asked Gray as the team was on their way to the hotel before they went to the pub to celebrate with the rest of their guild. After finding them while they were going back to the hotel, Ragna then told them of what he did while the battle between Fairy Tail and Sabertooth was going on and after it ended.

"Yup." Said Ragna. "Got to find that person Meredy when that guy jumped them. Got to get her to testify or else that guy goes scot free." He knew he couldn't get Meredy to do it because she was a wanted criminal due to her past with Grimoire Heart.

"I'm pretty sure that isn't necessary." Said Erza. "The military was informed to watch out for these figure or people matching their description. Once they figure out that one of them is in custody, they'll send someone to bring them under military arrest. They'll inform us when they do so as we are the ones that brought him in."

"Hmm…I guess." Said Ragna. "Still, wonder who that person was. Meredy gasped in shock upon seeing their face, but I couldn't see who it was because of the guy that jumped them."

"Person from her past?" Suggested Gray.

"Unlikely, but not impossible." Said Erza. "Some Grimoire heart members are unaccounted for by the magic council. Perhaps she spotted one here, working for another guild. Then again, a commotion would have started and she would have informed us immediately."

"Whatever it is, we need to find her and ask." Said Ragna. Everyone just nodded in agreement. "Anyway, where's Gajeel?"

"Well, we were fighting those two dragon slayers from Sabertooth when he suddenly left me alone." Said Natsu. "Jerk."

"Are you kidding me, man?" Asked Gray with a look of annoyance. "Did you seriously forgot what happened?"

"*Sighs* Natsu pushed Gajeel into a minecart and forced it to move inside an abandoned mine underneath the stadium." Explained Erza while forcing herself between the two in case they decided to brawl.

"Shit, seriously?" Asked Ragna. "Is he alright?"

"Uh…probably." Said Gray with a little uncertainty. Gajeel would undoubtably survive the ride, but he did question his health as he did develop extreme motion sickness like Natsu's, meaning he can't ride any sort of vehicle lest he get sick from the motion. "Betting that it'll be a while before we get to see him though."

"Seriously, Natsu? Did you have to push him and face them alone?" Asked Ragna. "That was seriously a dick move."

"Ah come on." Said Natsu. "Gajeel can handle a little ride. And I wanted them all to myself!"

"That still doesn't mean that you can just push your teammate aside." Said Ragna. "Would you do that to Lucy or Happy." Natsu was about to respond before shutting his mouth, realizing what Ragna said. "That's what I thought. Don't push people away when they can help Natsu. You never know when you need it." With that Ragna pushed on ahead, letting the words sink into Natsu. Erza, meanwhile, was looking at Ragna. He seemed to speak those words with some experience. Like he had been in such situations where he needed help but couldn't because he pushed people away.

" **Interesting."** Thought Erza as she followed. Her interest in Ragna piqued considerably.

* * *

 **Later**

 **Night**

 **Unknown location in Crocus**

* * *

Meredy was walking to the rendezvous point that Ultear told her via telepathy. Both her and Jellal were waiting for her to come and tell them what she found. As she walked, she couldn't help, but think how they won't believe her once she told them. Heck, she didn't even believe it herself when that girl told her what would happen. But, after some explanations from the girl and some actual proof, she decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and let her go. Still, though, Meredy was a bit unnerved with what she told her. Of how the world would end and what needed to be done to prevent it. Sighing to herself, she finally reached the rendezvous point, which was on the edges of the city, and saw Jellal and Ultear there. Upon seeing Meredy, the two went up to her.

"Are you okay?" Asked Ultear as she examined her. "Were you hurt?" Meredy had told them of how one of those figures that attacked Ragna and Jellal had appeared and tried to kill her and the other girl when Ragna showed up in time and scared him away.

"No, Ultear, I'm fine." Said Meredy. "Ragna chased him away before he did any damage."

"Good to hear." Said Jellal. "But you said that there was something that needed to be told to us, right? Something that couldn't be said through telepathy."

"That's right." Said Meredy with a nod before sighing. "Sit down guys. You're not going to believe this." Not believing it would be an understatement when she finally told them of what the girl told them. Meanwhile, a rundown apartment in Crocus, a cloaked figure was holding his chin as he contemplated recent events.

"Hmm. Adjustments need to be done, but no matter." Said the man. "Everything will proceed as plan. Ragna would be too busy with the final day of the tournament to really put a dent in the more delicate parts of my operation, especially with that little surprise later on." He then heard the door opening, revealing another one of those armored figures that Ragna fought sometime ago. The figure went to the cloaked figure and whispered something to him. After hearing it, he began to chuckle.

"Interesting." Said the cloaked figure. "Today has been full of surprises, but not unwelcomed ones." He then let out a smile. "Perhaps this will be a good time to bring him out. To see if his upgrades were worthwhile."

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Some Bar**

* * *

Ragna was cradling his cup of water while everyone else was celebrating with how they were doing in the Grand Magic Games. They just needed do well in the final day and they'll be number one again. Some were even believing that they were sure to win with Ragna and team Natsu. Ragna, on the other hand, just celebrated quietly, preferring it over the constant loud noises everyone was making.

"Seriously, can you guys knock it off?" Asked Ragna, annoyed with all the louds noises that were emitting from his guild.

"Its manly to be loud!" Yelled Elfman as he made as much noise as possible with Bickslow and the other loud guild members. Sighing in irritation Ragna just drank his water and wondered what the others were doing right now. Once Gajeel got back, he took Wendy and Natsu with him somewhere, saying that they needed to see it. Curious, Happy, Carla, Lucy, and Gray went along. He wondered what they were doing right now.

"Probably somewhere quieter than here." Thought Ragna as he finished his water. Returning his cup to the bartender, he got out of the bar everyone in the guild was in to avoid all the constant noise emitting from the drunk guild members. He respected them and they had good reason to celebrate, but god damn, they need to learn to stay quiet and respect others. He saw several other patrons glaring at the Fairy Tail guild in annoyance for all the noise they were making. "Can't blame them. No one wants loud noises when they want to have a nice drink." As he walked, Ragna began to think about tomorrow. With the last day for the tournament approaching, he had no doubt that the other guilds will go all out in whatever event is being prepared for the last day. Whatever it is, Ragna hoped it would be a battle-orientated event as being a fighter was something he was good at. Besides, he didn't get to do much in the Grand Magic Games. Its about time for him to do something else in these games. Might be a bit unfair, but hey, life is unfair. He was passing an alleyway when someone yelled out his name. A voice he heard before.

"Ragna!" Yelled Meredy as she ran toward the grim reaper. Turning around to face her, Ragna raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong kid?" Asked Ragna. Meredy twitched at hearing him call her kid but ignored it. She then looked at him with a serious look.

"We got a situation." Said Meredy. "A really bad situation." Hearing that, Ragna looked at her with a serious look.

"What's going on?" Asked Ragna. Meredy just sighed before speaking.

"You know that girl you helped save from that soldier guy?" Asked Meredy. Ragna just nodded. "Well, you're not going to believe this, but that girl was actually Lucy." Hearing this, made Ragna widen his eyes in surprise. Seeing this, she continued. "I'm being serious. The girl was Lucy. Before I could demand anything from her, she explained the whole situation. She came from the future." Giving Ragna a few moments to take this in, Meredy watched as Ragna just processed this information. After a few minutes, he looked at her with a little doubt.

"You're sure she's not tricking you or something?" Asked Ragna. "All that seems farfetched. For this world anyway."

"I didn't believe it at first." Said Meredy. "But she started to provide me evidence to the contrary. She told me events that only Lucy, myself, and a select few know. She recalled, in perfect detail, about how we meet and how Ultear unlocked everyone's 2nd origins. She even said the exact words Ultear used to explain the 2nd origins. And that's just the start. Needless to say, she's convinced me. And I could see in her eyes that she wasn't joking and that she was telling the truth." Sighing at this, Ragna then spoke.

"Okay then, what's the problem then?" Asked Ragna. Meredy just bit her lip before speaking.

"On the final day of the Grand Magic Games she said a horde of eight-headed beasts will appear and destroy Fiore and the world." Said Meredy. Hearing that made Ragna tense up. There was no way but…

"And did she give any description of these beasts?" Asked Ragna. Meredy looked at him in surprise but replied.

"Yes. She said that they're just eight heads attached to a body of black mass with tentacles. She also said that they pulsed with red energy." Said Meredy. She then noticed, to her shock, that Ragna was tensing up a lot, frozen in shock. Concerned, she went to touch him. "Ragna?" Feeling her touch him, snapped Ragna out of it. After shaking his head, he grabbed Meredy and began to shake her.

"You're god damn sure about that, right?" Asked Ragna as he stopped shaking her. "Tell me you're sure."

"Yes." Said Meredy, a bit scared at seeing the look Ragna was giving her. "That's what she said. That a horde of these eight-headed beasts will come and destroy Fiore. She also told me to tell you about it." Hearing that made Ragna widen his eyes.

"Where is she?" Asked Ragna as he let go of Meredy after calming down a bit. Meredy just dusted herself before speaking.

"I don't know." Said Meredy. "She just up and told me this and that she had a plan before leaving. I tried to follow her, but a crowd formed and I lost her amongst the crowd." Ragna gritted his teeth at that.

"Damnit." Said Ragna. "We're going to need more information than this. Did she say anything else?"

"Yeah, she told me her plan." Said Meredy. "Well, some of it at least. All I know was that Crime Sorcière is to meet her on the outskirts of the city and to inform you about the event."

"Seriously?" Asked Ragna. "Why the hell would she not tell us more? Its not as if she was in a hurry?"

"Maybe she was worried we were being spied on?" Suggested Meredy. "Look, it doesn't matter right now. Right now, we need to save Fiore and to stop these beasts from appearing. Can you help with that?" Ragna just looked at her and nodded.

"Well, Fiore is a good place. No way in hell am I letting it go to ruins." Said Ragna. Meredy just smiled at that before speaking.

"Good, but I think you'll need to go back to your guild." Said Meredy. "You have a big day tomorrow."

"The tournament?" Asked Ragna, incredulous. "There's an invasion of Bl…of beasts coming tomorrow and you want me to focus on the tournament? We don't have time for that!"

"I don't know." Said Meredy. "She told me that you have to participate." Hearing that made Ragna narrow his eyes. "* **Sighs** * Look, I don't like it either, but just play along for now. Besides, it would be disappointing if you just fought once in this tournament, right?" Ragna just clinked his tongue before nodding. "Great. Don't worry, Ragna. Crime Sorcière will figure out more of this before its too late." With that, the girl left, leaving Ragna alone to his thoughts.

" **Something doesn't made up. Why the hell would this "future" Lucy want me to fight in the tournament and not stop these Black Beasts."** Thought Ragna as he went back to the bar. " **Better yet, why are there Black Beasts coming to attack Fiore. It could just be coincident, and some other country just made some super weapons that look like the Black Beasts, but like hell. That's just wishful thinking. Someone that knows about how to make Black Beasts are here and I intend to figure out who."**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **Wilman2009- I'll try and explain it as best as possible.**

 **shadowedge27- You might be onto something with the horde of Black Beast. Or are they?**

 **DB-20- I never said Hazama wasn't in this. And no Flare isn't in the harem.**

 **Dread- Thank you. I'll try and update as quickly as possible, but writer's block is quite annoying really.**

* * *

 **Some bar**

* * *

"Your god damn kidding me?" Ragna yelled in disbelief as everyone in the guild was seething in rage. When team Natsu, sans Lucy, and Gajeel came back from whatever Gajeel wanted to show the Dragon slayers, they were rigid with anger. When they asked what's going on and where's Lucy, they explained in detail of what happened.

They first started with what Gajeel wanted to show them in the first place, which was a graveyard filled with dragon skeletons, something that interested many of them, Levy included. Things then turned weird when they told them about how Wendy summoned the spirit of a dead dragon in order to figure out what happened to the dragons, which they then told everyone in the guild. Finding it interesting, Ragna ignored his questions for the time beings so that they could listen to the rest of the story, which soon turned dark when they had told them about colonel Arcadios, the eclipse gates, and his plan. It was then that things began to go downhill when the Royal army came with the defense minister, Darton, and arrested both Lucy and Yukino, who was with the military and with Arcadios at the time. Once he had them escorted out of the caves they were in, he gave them an ultimatum. Win the Grand Magic games and he'll have Lucy and Yukino go free.

"We're not." Gray said fists clenched tightly. "Those bastards are going to pay for this."

"The kingdom will come later." Erza said. "For now, we have to focus on getting our friends out and winning the games."

"Indeed. And I have a plan for both." Said a voice before a little girl appeared on the bar's counter.

"Master Mavis!" Makarov yelled. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard about your little problem and decided to help out." Mavis explained before turning serious. "And I have the perfect plan." She then began to explain the plan in detail. Upon hearing one part if the plan, Ragna spoke out.

"Wait. You want us to just stand around for some time in the arena for god knows how long until its time to attack? That's crazy!" He winced a bit when he was suddenly hit in the head by Makarov.

"Fool! You shouldn't question the first master and her wisdom!" Makarov yelled his hand going back to normal. Ragna just glared at him in annoyance and was about to retort when Mavis suddenly giggled.

"Its completely fine, third master." Mavis said, defending Ragna. "He has every right to be skeptical of my plan. After all, it does sound stupid in hindsight. And I'm sure that your other children think the same." Upon hearing that, everyone else just whistled or stood there awkwardly. With that, Mavis turned to Ragna. "I completely understand, and I assure you. It will work. Just trust me. Everything will go exactly as I predicted." Ragna just stood there, still skeptical of the plan. To him, it sounded completely stupid and insane. The little rabbit or Kokonoe would have done a much better plan than this. Or at the least, one that didn't require them just standing still for some time. Still, he supposed he could play along until it looked like they'll lose from this.

"Fine, I'll play along, but the moment I think that we'll lose, I'm going out there and fight." Mavis just nodded her head in understanding.

"That can easily be rectified. Now, since my plan requires you and Laxus, the rest must be decided now along with who will go on the rescue mission." Upon hearing that everyone began to argue and talk amongst each other on who will go on what.

* * *

 **The next day**

 **Coliseum.**

* * *

"This plan better work." Ragna said as he waited for the judges to start the event.

"You and me both." Gray said, wondering why Mavis thought this was a good idea. Laxus just lightly bumped him, knowing that they needed to be at tip top shape for this.

"Just trust the first master alright." Laxus said. "She's never failed before. She won't today." Ragna was about to argue on this, but the judges started the event. With that, the other teams began to run out into the city. Once there, they'll began to fight amongst each other. The Fairy Tail team, on the other hand, was standing still, much to the confusion of the audience and the judges, except one, who just smiled at this. As time passed and the other teams began to catch up to Fairy Tail, Ragna looked on his teammates, wondering why the Mavis decided to choose these guys. Laxus and Gajeel he could get, they're dragon slayers, but Juvia and Gray? Why not Erza or Natsu? Heck, even Mirajane would perform much better than them in the tournament and not on the sneak mission. He could get that they wanted some heavy hitters should they ever be spotted, but wouldn't Juvia and Gray be a much better choice to get Lucy and Yukino out. Shaking his head, Ragna just waited until Mavis gave the signal, which caused them all to rush out to meet their opponents. Sighing at this stupid plan, Ragna ran toward the location where Mavis told him to go. As he ran toward his location, he saw the scoreboard.

" **Not bad. We're still in the lead."** Thought Ragna as he saw Fairy Tail was still in the lead with several points. Though Sabretooth managed to score a massive amount of points during the first few minutes of this challenge, Fairy Tail was still in the lead, which soon increased when the announcers began to call out various competitors being taken out by Fairy Tail. If this keeps up, then there's no way that Sabretooth will win this tournament unless there's a loophole in the point system. " **And knowing my luck, there is. Guess we'll just need to just take out everyone that isn't Fairy Tail then."** Soon, he was approaching the location where Mavis told him to go, the place where he'll face off Minerva. **"This the place, huh? Guess I'll just have to wait."** As he did so, he recalled the instructions of Mavis, ensuring him that Minerva will undoubtedly go after him because of his strength. She reasoned that Minerva, due to her pride, will go after the strongest competitors of the Grand Magic Games, which included him, as a way to show her superiority. And Ragna had to agree, her brutal assault on Lucy seemed to point to her being the kind of person that has a massive ego. **"Reminds me of Kokonoe, just without the scientific mind or the hidden heart she had."** He waited and waited, seeing the numbers of the guilds still left, Quattro Cerberus and Blue Pegasus having been taken out relatively quickly, go up, he suddenly felt a presence fast approaching.

Turning around, he saw Kagura coming right at him, sword at the ready. " **Goddamnit. Always something that mucks up the plan."** Thought Ragna as he blocked a strike from Kagura with his own sword. The two then commenced a sword fight with each other blocking the other's sword. When they crossed swords for the twelfth time, Ragna spoke to her while trying to overpower her with some of his strength, knowing that he was more powerful than her. "Guess we're fighting each other, after all, huh?" Kagura just nodded.

"Indeed." Kagura said. "Now show me if your reputation is true or false!" She then broke the cross and kicked Ragna in the knee. He grunted before dashing away from her before she could swing her sword at him. As she charged at him, Ragna waited until she was close enough that he could use Hell's Fang on her without her noticing until it was too late. Once she was in the desired range, he let loose his attack. To his surprise, however, Kagura just slid under him before kicking him on the side, pushing him away. He recovered swiftly, however, and was back on his feet before charging at her.

"Okay, let's get this over with!" With that, Ragna let loose a wave of dark energy before jumping up and slamming his sword on Kagura, who dodged both attack before counterattacking. Upon dodging her attack, Ragna let loose a fury of kicks and punches before ending with a punch to the chin, all of which Kagura dodged except for the last one. With her dazed for a moment, Ragna grabbed her by the neck and threw her to the ground before slamming his sword on her. Fortunately for Kagura, she recovered and rolled out of the way. She then jumped out of the way when Ragna launched a monstrous head at her in retaliation for his last attack failing to hit its mark.

"Tough as you look Kagura." Ragna said, seeing she wasn't even fazed with him slamming her to the ground. "Would like this to last for a while, but I'm on a timetable. So, let's finish this." He then turned his sword to its scythe form and was about to engage Kagura again when the two felt something was off. In response, the two jumped from their original position just as something appeared over their original position, orbs that distorted their sight of said position, before exploding.

"Minerva." Kagura said, knowing who had that type of magic. As if on cue, Minerva herself appeared from an orb, looking regal as a queen. Upon seeing her two opponents, Minerva let out a chuckle.

"Finally, opponents worthy of a queen." She eyed them both with prideful eyes and a devious smirk. "I heard a great deal about you two, of your achievements. Let me assure you two that those achievements of yours are nothing when compared to mine. You two should honestly be honored with being beaten by me. Few rarely get the chance."

"Yeah right. Like I'll ever feel honored by you." Ragna said as he got ready for a fight. "Let's just fight." Kagura just readied her sword, also on board with just fighting. Minerva just smirked, agreeing as well. The three stared down at each other, waiting for one to make the first move. As the wind blew on their faces, the three got ready for the upcoming fight. They stood there for several minutes, ignoring all the fighting coming from other parts of the city, before suddenly charging at each other.

"Hell's fang!" Ragna yelled as he charged at Minerva, his fist engulfed with dark energy. She just chuckled as she distorted space around her hands before charging at Ragna. Their fists connected and the resulting attacks canceled each other as well as causing the ground to be destroyed due to the shockwaves. Minerva was about to use her other hand on Ragna's face but was suddenly kicked in the side by Kagura, who also slammed her Katana's sheath at Ragna's cheek, sending both combatants to the ground. Ragna just recovered at her attack before coming at Kagura, who charged at Ragna, wanting to finish her fight with Ragna first before focusing on Minerva. Minerva, meanwhile, just scoffed before going back into the fray.

The three combatants went haywire, attacking each other with such ferocity that both amazed and terrified the audience that watched. Each was trying to get the upper hand on one opponents only to be suddenly attacked by the third combatant. Ragna managed to land a blow on Kagura, distorting her a bit, before being hit by a blast of magic from Minerva, who was then tripped by a recovered Kagura. The three went all out on each other, not giving anyone an opening, until Kagura went into the air to try and finish Minerva off. To her shock, Minerva just smirked before teleporting out of the way, causing an attack from Ragna to hit Kagura instead, sending her flying out of their initial fighting arena and to another one below. It was then that Minerva landed near Kagura, who was still recovering from Ragna's attack. She was about to finish her off when Ragna kicked her in the face, sending her flying. He was about to follow up with a blow from his sword when Kagura jumped him, forcing him to fight her once again. Annoyed with how this was going out, Minerva began to chant. Before their eyes, both Kagura and Ragna were engulfed by a ball of distorted space. As she chanted, Minerva let out a devious smirk.

"This is your doom!" Minerva yelled after finishing the chant. It was then that the balls exploded, engulfing the entire area near the three combatants to be engulfed in light. As the light started to dissipate and be replaced with smoke, the audience began to worry about Ragna and Kagura, hoping they were alright. As the dust cleared, their teams sighed in relief when they saw that both combatants were alright.

" **Damn. Such destructive power."** Thought Ragna was looked around him, seeing that everything near them was reduced to rubble. **"Those Grand Magic Game staff better not put a bill on our heads for this.** " He then looked to see Minerva and Kagura. Minerva, despite her attack failing to end them, still had her smirk, looking somewhat impressed at their durability. **"Damn bitch. I'm going to wipe that smirk off your face today.** " He then looked at Kagura, who was the worst for wear of the three. Her outfit was in tatters, exposing her cleavage and parts of her legs. She also had multiple scratches on her face and her hair was all over the place. Despite all that, she was still up and ready to fight again. "That all you got, Minerva? Cause we're just getting started." To his annoyance, Minerva simply chuckled.

"Not at all." Minerva said, still sounding smug as ever. "To be honest, I'm impressed with both of you. Nobody has ever managed to take a blow from that spell and survive before. It'll be a pleasure to destroy both of you." She then smirked. "But then I'll be vulnerable to the rest of your guildmates as well as the other guilds and I can't afford that. So, I'll just let you both fight each other and take out the victor when they're weak." Ragna just clicked his tongue at that.

"What? You interrupted our fight and you're just going to leave? What kind of coward are you?" To his surprise, Minerva just shook her head.

"I'm not being a coward. I'm just being smart. Something you're not capable of it seems." Ragna just growled at that. "Of course, I also know that I'll have to force you two to fight otherwise you both will just team up on me. So, I give you this." She then summoned a ball of magic, from out of nowhere. As it appeared before them, Kagura let out a gasp of shock.

"Millianna." Kagura said, rage building up inside her, as she saw her friend in that bubble.

"What the heck is this, Minerva?" Demanded Ragna, though he knew the answer. She was using Millianna as a hostage in order to force Kagura to fight him. Failure to do so will result in Minerva hurting and torturing Millianna.

"A simple hostage situation." Minerva said as she looked at Millianna trying to escape. "The rules are simple. You two fight until one of you is beaten, then I'll fight the victor. And she's insurance to make sure you two do fight each other. If you don't, then I'll torture the poor girl until you do."

"You!" Kagura growled as she tightened her grip on her sword. "How dare you resort to such trickery on the battlefield! Have you no honor?"

"Honor is worthless on the battlefield, girl." Minerva said. "It's winning that matters. A queen such as I knows this. And so, should you. You're just as ruthless as I am." Hearing that caused, Kagura to charged at her, sword at the ready. Minerva just smirked before teleporting away and swapping places with Ragna, who fortunately reacted enough to block Kagura's strike with his own sword.

" **Damnit. If we don't fight each other, who knows what Minerva will do to Millianna.** Thought Ragna as he saw Minerva looking at them, obviously waiting for their answer. " **Guess we'll be playing her rules for now."** Pushing Kagura away, he looked at Minerva. "Alright, I'll play your little game. I'll fight Kagura alone. But you better let Millianna go after this." Minerva just chuckled at that.

"Of course, I don't care which of you wins, just as long as one of you loses. I'll let her go when a victor has emerged." With that she opened a portal and left with Millianna. Just before she did, however, she spoke. "I hope you agree as well, Kagura. I might do something distasteful to Millianna if you don't." Kagura just gritted her teeth before speaking.

"I will. Just leave Millianna alone!" Satisfied, Minerva then left, leaving the two alone. Looking at Kagura, Ragna readied his sword.

"Better not hold back, you're going to need it." Kagura just turned an eye to Ragna.

"I won't. I don't have mercy for my enemies." She then readied her sword. "You better not hold back as well, Ragna. I'll be disappointed if you did."

" **Trust me. You don't want me to go all out."** Thought Ragna before charging at Kagura, who also charged at him. Their swords connected and the two engaged in a sword fight, one giving it their all while one was holding back in fear of severely hurting his opponent. **"Got to end this quickly. Who knows what Minerva will do to Millianna."** With that thought, he broke the fight and tried to kick Kagura away so he can finish her off with Carnage Scissors. Unfortunately, she just jumped and aimed her sword hilt at him as she fell back. Dashing out of the way, Ragna witnessed the sword just create a large cave in on the ground he was just standing in a few seconds ago. " **Damn that is a powerful sword. Just what the heck is it?"** They were about to attack again when the floor gave away, causing them to freefall to the lower parts of the city.

Not deterred by this, Ragna and Kagura went at each other, kicking or trying to slice each other with their swords. Seeing they were approaching the ground, Kagura then used one of her sword forms and charged at Ragna, who emitted a barrier to protect himself. To Kagura's surprise, Ragna's barrier held, albeit barely. Before she could do anything Kagura rammed his elbow at her face, disorienting her and causing her to crash on top of a roof, causing to cave in as well as causing a cave in from where she landed.

" **Impressive shield."** Thought Kagura as she got up, seeing Ragna land near her. He looked impassive, but ready for another go. " **I didn't want to use my sword's full potential, especially on a friend, but if this keeps up, I may have to."** Rolling one of her arms to relieve the stiffness in it, she was about to go again when Ragna spoke.

"You sure you want to go at me again, Kagura?" Ragna lazily held his sword as he spoke. "Cause right now, I'm not sure you'll win against me." Kagura's eye twitched at that. Was he mocking her? "You're strong Kagura, I'm not denying that, but you're not strong enough to beat me. Trust me. Better for the both of us if you just give up here and now." Kagura just gritted her teeth at that. How dare him to ask her to surrender. Who did he think he is? She was the ace of Mermaid Heel and their strongest mage. If she just surrendered to him, her guild's, much to her distaste as she knew how strong Ragna is, reputation would plummet as his guild was considered the weakest of all the guild in Fiore. Then again, if they won the Grand Magic Games then they wouldn't be considered as such anymore. But aside from that, she would be damaging her own pride for surrendering. It simply wouldn't allow her to surrender. Not yet at least.

"You should know that I'm not surrendering to you. I'm going down fighting, Ragna." Kagura said as she brandished her sword.

"Yeah, kind of expected that really." With that he got ready for a fight. Without warning, Kagura charged at him in blinding speeds. She then kicked him in the shin before following up with her sword's scabbard hitting his neck. Quickly recovering, Ragna just threw a punch at her, engulfed with dark energy. The punch threw her back to a pillar as well as healing Ragna. Glaring at her opponent, Kagura looked at her sword.

" **I didn't want to use this, but if I want to win…then I have no choice.** " Kagura then sighed before removing the bandages to her sword, surprising Ragna a bit.

"Guess I'm going to face that sword's full potential huh?" Ragna asked. Once she was done, Kagura just looked at Ragna, still a little peeved at him asking her to surrender.

"Yes. Forgive me, but I must win this for my friend and guild." Kagura said as she unsheathed her sword. Once she did, Ragna felt the amount of energy and power the sword had as it was unsheathed. It felt vengeful and a bit wrong. Its like the sword wanted to taste the blood of its master's most hated enemies.

" **Damn. What the hell is that sword? If I didn't know any better, that sword is a Nox Nyctores."** Thought Ragnathe wave of energy from the sword washed over him. He noticed Kagura looking a bit uncertain at using the unsheathed sword to its full potential before she steeled herself.

"Prepare yourself, Ragna." Kagura said, silently hoping that she wouldn't kill Ragna with her sword. She didn't want her first kill to be one of her friends. Readying himself, Ragna got ready for a fight. The two starred at each other for awhile before Kagura suddenly charged at Ragna again, her sword glistening in the light of the sun. Shielding himself from her sword, Ragna was shocked to see it breaking through with ease and cutting him in the chest. Backing off, Ragna examined the wound. It wasn't deep or fatal, but it still shocked him.

" **Damn. Okay, defense is out the window. Time to go on the offensive."** With that Ragna charged at Kagura, his sword at the ready to face Kagura's. As the two sword met, Ragna felt the power behind the sword as it met his. It was also represented in how Kagura managed to push her sword tip near his face with the force of her sword alone. Knowing that he'll need to put more effort into this fight now, Ragna pushed her back before attempting to kick her in the gut, which she dashed away to safety. Needing to end this fight now, Kagura decided to put all her energy into one last attack. As she watched Ragna moving toward her, she readied herself. Dodging his initial strike, she used her gravity magic to its fullest potential, trapping him in one spot.

"Forgive me Ragna." Kagura said with a hint of regret before unleashing a slash from archenemy. The slash became an actual projectile and began carving a massive scar across Crocus. As it approached Ragna he let out a single swear word. The projectile then hit him and caused a massive cloud of dust and smoke to fly up to the air. As she watched the dust subside, Kagura couldn't help but feel regret at what she'd done. She just used her unsheathed sword, something that she swore to only use when she faced Jellal, her brother's killer, on what's potentially her first friend on the opposite sex. Shame filled her as she watched the dust finally subside. When it did, however, she gasped out loud and widened her eyes in disbelief. To her shock and relief, Ragna looked fine. In fact, aside from a few bruises and a few tears on his jacket, he looked the same as when the fight initially started. Though she was relieved that he was fine, she was in disbelief that her attack did nothing to him. "How did you survive?"

" **If you see the stuff I fight, then you wouldn't be saying that.** " Thought Ragna as he rolled his arms to ease their stiffness. "I'm just that good. Used one of my attacks to move out of the way of the attack." Ragna, in a stroke of brilliance that even the rabbit would acknowledge, used Hell's fang to move out of the way. It wasn't much, but he managed to get out of the large white projectile, though he was too close to the projectile for his comfort. "Since I dodged your last attack, I'm guessing you want to give up now?" Though annoyed that he asked her to surrender again, she knew she didn't have any options left. She put all her remaining energy to that last attack. And since he looked like he still had a lot of energy to fight, Kagura just sighed.

"I have no choice." Kagura said, swallowing her pride. "I surren…" She couldn't say anymore when Ragna suddenly dashed toward her and grabbed her. He then dashed again just as a ball of magic emerged from their initial spot and detonated, creating a sizable creator where Kagura was standing.

"Guess you got sick of waiting, huh Minerva?" Ragna sarcastically asked as he saw Minerva emerging from a portal. Though annoyed, she didn't do the killing blow to Kagura, she still kept her smug face.

"No, I simply saw an opportunity to get points and I attempted to seize it. But you got in the way." Ragna just huffed and put Kagura down, who immediately got up, glaring at Minerva and her dishonorable ways of fighting.

"I surrendered to Ragna. He's beaten me. And according to our terms, you're to release Millianna. So, do so!" Demanded Kagura. Minerva just glanced at Kagura, rage building in her.

"You don't tell a queen what to do." Minerva said. "But I'll humor you." She then snapped her fingers and Millianna came out of a portal. Kagura gasped upon seeing her condition. She had bruises all over her body and was groaning in pain. "I grew bored watching you two fight, so I decided to torture the cat here. It was quite enjoyable. You should try it." Kagura just glared at Minerva while Ragna just tightened his hands into fists. Minerva's attitude was reminding him so much Terumi right now and it was angering him to no end. He was so angry that his Grimoire started acting up again, like back with Flare, which soon subsided when he calmed down. He then looked at the holographic board near them and saw Sabretooth gaining a point, likely because Minerva defeated Millianna, which was latter confirmed by the judges, who while disgusted with her actions, had to give her the point.

"I'll make you pay for this!" Growled Kagura before attempting to charge at Minerva, only to be stopped by Ragna.

"You can't face her now. You're too weak from our fight." Ragna said. He then looked at her with determined eyes. "I'll take care of her for you. You just get Millianna away from here and to her teammates." Kagura gritted her teeth at this, knowing that Ragna was right. There was no chance that she can win against Minerva at her state and Millianna needed help now. Sighing to herself, she looked at Ragna.

"First, I surrender to you Ragna the Bloodedge." She then looked to see Fairy Tail gaining ten points as she was the leader of Mermaid Heel. "2nd, make her pay for hurting Millianna. And 3rd, be careful." She then sped toward Millianna and grabbed her. Glaring at Minerva one last time, she hurried away from the battle that would commence soon.

" **Trust me. She's going to regret soon."** The two remaining combatants looked at each other for a moment before charging at each other, both eager to inflict pain on the other. As they fought a figure was watching them, interested in only one combatant.

"My, my." Said the figure as he watched Ragna fight. "Holding back, are you, Ragna? Quite disappointing, really? And to think that you beat Terumi by yourself with such a way of conducting combat." The figure then sighed. "No matter. I suppose it's for the best. I need more data on Sabretooth after all." The figure then thought of the Fairy Tail rescue team and chuckled. "Your friends, on the other hand, will give a lot of data once my associate battles them." The battle continued on as the day started to turn into night. Minerva, who was fighting Ragna, just growled as he dodged another one of her attack.

"Stop dodging and actually fight!" Demanded Minerva as she launched another orb at Ragna, who simply just sliced it in two. Ragna just scoffed.

"Why the hell should I?" He then dodged another projectile from Minerva. "Didn't you try and wait until Kagura and I were done fighting, so you could take out the winner when they're exhausted?" Minerva just clicked her tongue before trying to grab Ragna with one of her orbs. Fortunately, Ragna, sensing the danger, just moved out of the way. **"Goddamnit. If it weren't for Mavis's plan, I would have mopped the floor with her by now. Why the hell was she so adamant on me stalling Minerva. She's more interested in me than everyone else. And she seems so confident in her own teammates to take care of the others. So why is Mavis fixated in me delaying Minerva?"** Pushing those thoughts aside, Ragna just focused on distracting Minerva. At least for now. **"Few more minutes. After that, she's going down."** As Ragna continued his streak of dodging and just plain destroying Minerva's attacks, Minerva finally had enough. Deciding to try a new tactic, Minerva decided to taunt Ragna into fighting her.

"If you don't put any effort into our fight, Ragna, then you'll force to make you fight." Upon hearing that, Ragna looked at her.

"You better not drag more people into this, Minerva. This is between you and I alone." She just rolled her eyes at that.

"Please, a queen does as she pleases. And I'll bring as many pawns as I please." She then opened a portal. "If you don't mind, I'll think I'll pay one of your friends a visit. They must be weak enough that I can easily destroy them with ease. Perhaps I'll make them suffer for your lack of effort." As she was about to enter the portal, she sensed imminent danger. Dashing away from the portal, she saw Ragna slash threw it before landing and looking at her in anger.

"You bitch! Alright fine. If you want me to fight you, then I'll do it." Ragna then charged at her, sword at the ready. Smiling at how easy it was to get him under her thumb, Minerva waited as he charged at her before encasing Ragna into an orb. She then telekinetically tossed the orb around like a rag doll, causing it to smash into multiple pillars, before causing it to explode. Satisfied at her move, she was about to launch another attack when Ragna came rushing toward her, fist extended out. Shocked to see this, she couldn't react fast enough until Ragna's fist came crashing into her face, which then caused her to be launched toward a pillar, causing it to break and cause rubble to fall on top of her. Ragna just waited for a few moments before the rubble suddenly exploded and out came Minerva, glaring at him.

"You'll pay for that!" She then teleported Ragna right in front of her and let loose a kick to his stomach before letting loose a number of orbs at him, which then exploded, causing Ragna to be tossed around like a rag doll around for a few moments before he got his bearings and raised a barrier around him to protect him from more explosions as more orbs were self-destructing around him. Minerva, who teleported to safety before the initial explosion, growled at Ragna's shield before summoning more and more orbs at him, hoping to overwhelm his barriers.

" **Okay. Just need to hold out a little more until her magic is depleted."** Thought Ragna as his shield was starting to break. He gritted his teeth as he waited a few more seconds before making his move. As the orbs kept self-destructing, his barrier's strength was starting to wane, causing some of the force of the explosions to come at him. Gritting his teeth as he felt his body be hit with multiple explosions, albeit minimized, Ragna waited until the shield nearly broke to make his move. Just as it broke, he jumped high into the air, twirling around a point before he pointed his sword's tip at Minerva as he fell down. Minerva, who was too exhausted and drained from the barrage of orbs she sent to Ragna, was forced to watch as his sword was coming at her. Fear filled her as she watched the sword tip began to approach her eyes, believing this was the end. But Ragna, who saw no point in killing her, just moved his sword out of the way, before slamming his sword's blade on the back of her head, causing her to slam into the ground with a hard crack, causing a cave in. As he landed, Ragna looked to the score board to see that he had gotten ten points for that, meaning he won. Looking over to Minerva, he saw she was unconscious.

"Tch. Serve you right you bitch." Ragna said as he left, wanting to find more opponents to face. As he left, the figure watched with slight amusement.

"Hmm. Interesting move, Mr. Bloodedge. It seems your creativity has improved since the last time I read your data." The figure then left, knowing that there was no point in seeing the rest of the tournament any longer. "The true event will begin soon, Ragna. And they'll need you at your peak if they want to prevent what I have in store."

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Royal Palace, Mercurius**

* * *

Cosmos just held her head as Kamika was shaking Uosuke, trying to wake up. Kama just silently fumed as he looked at the path the Fairy Tail mages took to escape the Abyss Palace while Neppa just drank from his bottle. This was certainly an embarrassment for their career. The princess sent them to execute the Fairy Tail mages that were sent here from the dungeons. They engaged them and…well they got their butts kicked hard. They overpowered them and forced Kama to tell them how to escape the Abyss Palace. Having never lost before, this was a hit to their pride. Having finished with rubbing the pain away, Cosmos looked at Kama.

"What's the plan, Kama? Try and redo our assignment?" Asked Cosmos. Kama just nodded.

"Yes. Its our duty as executioners to complete our mission." He then brought out his scythes. "Even if they surpass us in raw magic power, we must still attempt to do our mission. Get ready to move out." Kamika just sighed as Uosuke got up. She really didn't want to face the demon again, but her pride outweighed her fear. Just as they were about to move out, they heard a chuckle.

"Much as I like to see that happen, I'm afraid that will go against the orders of the princess." The five looked behind them to see a giant, even eclipsing Neppa in height, coming at them. The armor he wore was nothing they've seen before. It was black with green highlights coming from his shoulder cauldrons, which were in the shape of snake heads, and head. His helmet had dull green eyes that creeped them out and there was a tiny slot where a mouth would be. His hands were clawed, and his feet had sharp blade on them as well. He wore baggy pants that seemed to be connected to the armor. Finally, his hair was long and straight. It also almost looked scaly in its appearance. As it approached them, it bowed in respect. "Forgive me, where are my manners. I was sent by the princess to investigate the progress on the mission regarding the Fairy Tail mages. I have proof." He then held out the seal that contained the royal family crest. One that only a select few had. The five looked at each other in uncertainty before Kama spoke.

"How come we have never heard of you?" Asked Kama, looking at the strange man with uncertainty and fear. He never seen this thing before in his life. And he doubted the royal family wouldn't have shown him to them. They did their dirty work for them and they had their loyalty to boot. Something seemed wrong.

"Secrecy, of course. You should know that. But enough of me. How goes your mission. The princess wants to know now." Kama just narrowed his eyes before speaking.

"Regrettably, they have defeated us and have manage to escape from the Abyss palace." The armored being just gasped in fake shock before speaking.

"A pity. That's your first defeat, am I mistaken." Seeing them narrow their eyes at him, the armored figure just raises his hands. "No need to get angry, we're all on the same side here. Besides, a loss here and there doesn't hurt anybody. Humbles them I hear. But enough of philosophy, the princess wants them stopped. She fears they're planning something, and she wants them to be taken in." Kama just looked at him.

"Taken in? But she wanted them dead, am I wrong?" The armored being just nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, but recent intelligence has confirmed that they're trying something. She wants to know. Those are her orders. She wants you five at the perimeter around the palace. In the event they manage to escape the palace itself and into its grounds. I'll deal with them myself." A long tongue then appeared from the slot on his helmet. He also made a snake sound. "Sorry about that. Force of habit. Now, am I clear on those orders? If you want, you can ask her directly to confirm them yourself." The executioners just stared at him silently, sensing something isn't right with him. He may seem to be friendly, but there was something…off with him. Like he was hiding something. Still, if what he saying was true, the princess needed them to be on the palace's perimeters.

"Very well." Said Kama. "We'll do what she orders. But be warned, those wizards are not to be underestimated." The armored figure just gasped upon hearing that.

"Why you executioners do care about people. I'm flattered to see you care about me. Should we have a party once this is over?" Shaking his head at the figure, Kama lead his team out of the Abyss Palace. Once they were gone, the figure began to laugh.

"That was almost too easy, I nearly feel guilty." The figure said before looking at his hands. "So, this is how it feels to wield this suit. The power it emits. It almost satiates my hungry, but it can't. Not unlike the thrills of battle. The feeling you get when you see the life go away from someone you killed. Terumi, you've been holding out on me." The figure then began to move. **"Well Ragna, I hope your friends are as strong as I believe they are, otherwise I won't get my thrill at tearing their throats out from their bodies."**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **Wilman2009- No need to apologize, I understand completely. I'll try to provide an explanation for it, but I think it won't be good.**

 **DB-20- You'll find out in this chapter.**

 **Kinaki747- It's not Azrael.**

 **Forest1395101- Yeah, I'll try to fix them when I can. As for the Harem, it'll be three Blazblue chicks and four Fairy Tail chicks, just not ones from the Fairy Tail guild. Oh and don't worry, I don't hate writing about harems. I just prefer to write** pairing **that** are **only between two people with some exceptions.**

 **I mean, I could always change my mind with Flare, I guess. I'll let you know if I change my mind.**

 **As for the Murakumo chicks…uhh…you might be disappointed. (PS. Send a psychiatrist.)**

 **MechanicalHero36- I'll see what I can do.**

 **Infiniteshadow72- Well Ragna mainly uses Seithr, not Ethernano, and Seithr, as far as I know anyway, doesn't have souls. So, Ragna shouldn't have any problem with fighting that guy when it comes down to it. I'll think** on **it though**.

* * *

Ragna just sighed to himself as he watched Sting embracing his cat, the red-colored one called Lector.

 **"Guess the kid had a heart, after all."** Thought Ragna as he watched the two cry together, happy that they're both alive and safe. Apparently, Minerva had used Lector as a sort of bargaining chip against Sting. To force to use his feelings against the other teams in order for Sabretooth to win the Grand Magic Games since Fairy Tail was way ahead of them. If they won, then Lector would be returned to Sting, but if they lost, then he'll never see the cat again. Sting, concerned for his friend, complied and followed her instructions to the letter, only engaging the enemy if it'll not require much energy. The plan was for Sting to engage any and all remaining competitors, who would have been exhausted from fighting each other while Sting was at full strength, thus winning the entire Grand Magic Games by default as only a Sabretooth member was left standing during the final day of the event.

The rule was added as a precaution should a team that was low on points prior to day 5 managed defeat all other participating teams. The rule stated should such an event happen, then the standing team will receive a hundred points, something that confused a few people who read that as it meant that all a team needed to do was just win the day 5 event, though some rationalized it as a way to give all the guilds participating a chance to win should they fall behind in points.

That was probably why Sting was so confident initially when he faced the whole Fairy Tail team. Everyone, aside from Ragna, was all exhausted and wounded from their battles with the other guilds. So, theoretically, Sting could have taken them all had Ragna been taken out of the equation. But with him, he stood no chance at beating them. Yet, despite that, Sting just stood confidently against them with his smug grin that Ragna despised. After claiming he'll beat them all by himself, he activated his dragon force, gathering energy. As the whole Fairy Tail team was watching him do this, ready for him and whatever he threw at them. But when he took a step, Sting suddenly just stopped, reverting back to his normal self. He just stood there for a few moments before going on his knees, defeated. It was if he sensed that he couldn't beat them all, not with Ragna still full of energy, and decided to just give up, deeming it pointless to fight. With that surrender, Fairy Tail was the last team standing and was declared the winner of the Grand Magic Games. As the audience and their guild celebrated this spectacular victory, Sting explained the whole reason he fought today. After finishing, he began to go in tears, knowing that Minerva will take her frustration out on Lector for Sting's failure to uphold his end of the bargain.

But as luck would have it, Millianna soon came with Lector in tow. Sleeping, but alive. Upon seeing his friend alive and safe, Sting began to rush toward Millianna, relief in his veins. Lector, who was starting to wake up, saw his friend coming at him, tears in his eyes. Upon seeing him, Lector began to cry as well, happy to see his friend again. With renewed strength, Lector jumped out of Millianna's grasp and began to run toward Sting, which ended with the two hugging each other, crying their eyes out. Something that brought a smile in everyone's face. As he watched this lovely session happen before his eyes, Ragna looked over to Gray, who was chatting with Laxus about the rescue team.

"So, you think they've run into a bit of trouble?" Asked Gray, worried about the rescue team. Laxus just shrugged his shoulders. "I mean we haven't heard from them in awhile yet. They should be back by now. What's keeping them?"

"Well, knowing Natsu, they've probably decided to go looking for payback for Lucy." Laxus then frowned. "Then again, if that happened, we'd be seeing the palace in rubble by now. Maybe they've been struggling to find her cell or something?" Gray just hummed in thought, wondering where they could be. Ragna himself was wondering the same thing as well, hoping they were all right.

 **"You guys better be safe."** Thought Ragna as he watched the touching moment with Lector and Sting. It almost reminded him of his last moments with Noel and Jin.

* * *

 **Later**

 **The Coliseum**

* * *

As the people cheered at the victorious Fairy Tail team, throwing them words of praise, apologies, and flowers at them, the Fairy Tail team just waved back and enjoyed the cheering crowds.

"Man, this feels nice." Said Gray with a small smile, ignoring Juvia as she clenched his right arm, spouting words of love and devotion to him. Laxus just nodded as he waved at the crowd. Gajeel wasn't as nice toward the crowd though.

"Whatever. They better have learned a lesson after this." Said Gajeel, waving to keep the appearance that he loved this. "That Fairy Tail isn't a bunch of weaklings. Not anymore anyway." Ragna had to agree there. One day the crowd was booing and jeering at them. The next, they cheered them on and gave them their support. Granted, they proved that they aren't a force to be taken lightly with again, but the fact remained, they mocked and insulted them in the beginning. Just goes to show that people's opinions can change when they witness something that completely shakes their views. Upon arriving at the middle of the arena, the five stopped before the mascot of the games, Mato, and waited for him to give them their prize. With a bow, the mascot spoke.

"You all did well this yeah, surprising all of us. Yes, indeed you did, I honestly thought that Fairy Tail will lose like in every other year. As in, lose so badly that they shouldn't have even attempted to participate." The team just glared in annoyance at his remark, causing Mato to flinch. "Apologies. That was unkind of me to say. But, either way, what I said is true. You proved yourselves that Fairy Tail is back as number one guild in Fiore and that shouldn't be taken for granted. And now the whole nations know it as well." He then yelled out in excitement. "Now lets give a round of applause to the new number one guild in Fiore!" Everyone then began to cheer and clap again for Fairy Tail. While his teammates soaked up the applause and returning it, Ragna felt a bit off.

"So, this is what it feels like to be loved." Thought Ragna as people held up posters and pictures of him, calling out his name in not disgust or hate, but love and admiration. It felt strange to have such emotions being given to him and it felt nice. However, despite it, something felt off. Like he was missing something. He thought long and hard until he realized what it was. *Sighs. Noel. Jin. Rachel. Goddamn I miss you guys. Wish you were here." It was then that Mato looked at them.

"As for you reward, the money will be sent to your guild master tomorrow morning as well as the trophy. Now, normally we would have a big feast for the winning guild right after the games end, I've received a letter from the king. He would like all participating guild to assemble at the place gardens. For what, I've no idea, but it sounded urgent. Please, inform your guild of this immediately. Guards have been sent to inform the other guilds so you shouldn't bother with the others." With that Mato quickly left the arena.

"What does the kind want?" Asked Gajeel, suspicious. Laxus just shrugged with Juvia and Gray looking to themselves in wonder as well. Ragna just sighed, getting a feeling that he knew what was going on.

"Whatever it is, its bad. We better tell everyone else." Everyone just nodded before running towards their guild to tell them of what Mato told them.

* * *

 **Rescue team location**

 **Mercurius**

* * *

"Come on! We just have to deal with this last batch of cronies and we're home free!" Yelled Natsu as he mowed down another squad of guards. Lucy just sighed before telling Loke to attack, not wanting to think about of how much trouble they're guild will be in now that they've attacked the royal family's guards. The plan was so simple. While the rest of the guild was participating in the final days of the Grand Magic Games, a small team of their best wizards would rescue her and Yukino. It sounded fine, but it went awry when they all fell down a trap hole, in their cell, to a massive cave complex called the Abyss Palace. It was there that they had to fight a group of executioner wizards called the Hungry Wolf Knights. They defeated them with ease and got them to divulge the information on how to leave the palace. Things then took a weird turn when they encountered a future version of Lucy that came to warn them of a coming danger. Shocked and confused to see another Lucy, they nevertheless brought her with them once she passed out. When they found a relatively safe room to hide in, they woke her up and ordered her to explain herself. Though she teared up at seeing Natsu, she nevertheless agreed and told them in detail what's going to happen. To say they were shocked is an understatement.

She said that, within a day, a swarm of black and red creatures will swarm Crocus and devour everything in sight, poisoning people with a strange substance that even the most accomplished healers couldn't heal. She even said that Wendy's sky magic wouldn't work, having observed it in action on someone who was infected with the ungodly subject. She said that, in order to prevent this, they had to meet up with Crime Sorcière and quick, otherwise they may not be able to stop the event from occurring. Wasting no time, everyone followed the future Lucy as she lead them out of the palace. Unfortunately, Yukino disappeared and Mirajane left to go find her. Things then took a turn for the worst when a large number of royal guards found them and attacked them. Since then, they've been engaged in a never ending battle against a seemingly endless horde of enemy soldiers. If they don't end this fight soon, they'll be out of time the monsters from coming. Unfortunately, the fairies will soon have to face a far more dangerous opponent than the guards.

While everyone was engaging with the royal guards, the guards way back from the action noticed a figure coming at them. Upon looking at the figure, they noticed it was arriving with two more guards. At ease seeing the guards, the men looked at the figure, slightly unnerved at the armor it wore.

"At ease." Said one of the guards that escorted the figure. "This man has the seal of the princess with him. He's ordered to deal with the intruders by himself. Said so by this letter." The man then brought out a piece of paper containing the seal of the royal family. Upon reading the piece of parchment, the men attacking the fairies nodded and began to notify their cohorts of the what's going on. Slowly, but surely, the guards began to stop fighting, something noticed by the Fairy Tail members.

"What's going on?" Demanded Erza as she defeated another royal guard, confused at this behavior. The guards just stayed silent before making way for the new figure. Upon seeing the new combatant, the fairies went into fighting stances, seeing it as a new threat. Upon seeing them noticing him, the figure began to laugh.

"Why thank you for noticing me. I'm flattered." The armored figure then turned to the royal guards. "Grab your colleagues and get out of here. This might get messy and I rather not hear the princess complain about "unnecessary casualties." Upon hearing that, the men began to gather their fellow unconscious soldiers and began to hastily leave, sparing glares at the Fairy Tail wizards. Once they were all gone, the figure brought out a snake-like tongue, hissing at them like a snake.

"This is the mighty Fairy Tail?" Asked the figure as he paced back and forth, eyeing the small team of wizards. "From what I heard of you, you should have easily defeated them all in even a forth of the time that you've been here. You've gotten soft over the years. Or perhaps you're just not as powerful as I was led to believe." Everyone just narrowed their eyes at his insults, ready to fight him if they need to. The future Lucy, however, just widened her eyes in fear upon seeing that figure.

"Why is he here?" Thought the future Lucy as she eyed the figure, who stopped pacing to eye everyone. They couldn't see it, but he was giving them all a stare of hunger, wondering which one to take on first. He then waved his hands.

"Ah well, it doesn't matter. What matters, though, is that you know about my plan. And I don't like that. It'll ruin the surprise." Upon hearing that, everyone's, aside from future Lucy's, eyes widened upon hearing that.

"You're the one that brings those monsters to the kingdom?" Asked Natsu in a rage. Upon seeing the man nod, Natsu growled at him. "Do you know how many people will die when that happens!? How many lives will be ruined!?"

"Yup." Said the man, nonchalantly. "It'll be great. All that suffering and misery wrecked upon the innocent." Everyone glared at him in disgust when he said that. Natsu was about to attack him when Erza stopped him. He protested at first, but a look from Erza told him to back off. Once he did, she turned to glare at the man in armor.

"What's your goal in bringing such destructive monsters to the Fiore? What's the motivation in doing so?" Asked Erza, wanting to know why someone would do such a thing. No one, but a deprived sadist, would do something like that just for the pure pleasure of it.

"Well," The man said, placing a hand on his chin. "Just for the heck of it. Cause why not? Its always the same thing in this country. Dark guild does something bad and the good guilds got to stop them. Why not spice things up a bit, right? Make things more complicated." Erza narrowed her eyes in rage at his explanation, not believing how uncaring the man was. It's clear to her and everyone else that he needs to be taken down.

"If that is your answer, then we'll bring you to justice." Erza then pointed her swords at the man, which chuckled at the threat.

"You remind me of another red head. She was also so idealistic that she couldn't think beyond what she saw as right and wrong. And it nearly cost her life." The man then brought out two butter knives from his person. An odd weapon to use as noted by the Fairy Tail members, but still deadly in the right hands. "Lets see if things will end differently for you." With that, the man charged right at them. He moved so fast that none of them were able to see him until he was right in top of present Lucy. Before anyone knew it, he stabbed her in the arms, digging them deep into her flesh. As she screamed in pain, the armored man threw one of his knife at Wendy with the other at the future Lucy. Both knives hit their stomachs. They clutched their wounds as they dropped to their knees or to the ground with the future Lucy's case. He then attempted to do a roundhouse kick into Erza's head, but the woman responded just in time and dodged the attack. She tried to counterattack but the man simply dodged the attack and jumped away. Upon landing, he looked at the damage and chuckled.

"I just took out three of your group with ease." Said the man as he bowed, infuriating Erza. "I'm not impressed. With this is all you can provide me, then perhaps I should go after Ragna. At least he was entertaining to fight." Upon hearing that, Erza looked at him.

"You know about Ragna?" Asked Erza. What history did this person have with their newest member.

"Oh yes. You see, he and I.." Before he could answer, he was suddenly hit in the face with a flaming fist, sending him tumbling back, but because of the surprise, not the force of the strike.

"You damn monster! You're going to pay!" Yelled Natsu as he glared at the man in anger. No one hurts his friends and gets away with it. The man just caressed his face before looking at Natsu.

"Seriously, you remind me so much of people that its making me homesick. Time to correct that." With that the man charged at Natsu and Erza, who also charged.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

* * *

"You're shitting me." Said Ragna as the cheers from the crowd began to subside. Just a few minutes ago, the king announced that they'll be under attack soon by a force of black creatures that'll ravage the kingdom soon. He then told them that they had a weapon to deal with them, but asked for them to stay and defend their homeland. He also said that if they didn't want to, then that will be fine, and they can flee with the civilian populace of Crocus. To no one's surprise, no one fled. Instead, all the wizard guilds that came to participate in the Grand Magic Games cheered on the king and vowed to protect the city with all they got. This was their homeland and they refused to run away when they could do something to protect it.

After a round of cheering, they all then spread out to cover the city when those black creatures to arrive, which Ragna wax certain for them to be remains of a Black Beast. There was no way for there to be that many Black Beasts coming at the same time. It just wasn't possible. As far as Ragna knew, you needed a Murakumo unit and someone with an Azure Grimoire to make one. And, as far as he knew, there wasn't that many Azure Grimoires' out there to make the amount of Black Beasts' that Meredy claimed to be coming. No, he was certain that there was only one Black Beast and the others with it were just remains, beings that a Black Beast can create to both serve and guard it. Though he kept that thinking, he was still slightly unnerved on facing any Black Beast remains.

He remembered the time that Jubei, his old master, had fought a remain. Despite his valiant efforts, the thing managed to defeat him and render one of his eyes unusable. Even Celica, the most accomplished magic user in terms of healing, couldn't bring back his eye because of the Black Beast's innate ability to inflict magic elemental poisoning with its attacks, which is shared with all its remains. Though it was most likely that particular remain was more powerful than most of its kind, it still unnerved Ragna with how powerful one of the Black Beast's remains can be. If any of the remains were as powerful as the one that engaged Jubei, then they'll have their luck cut out for them.

Looking around, he saw that everyone in Fairy Tail was just grouped up together, waiting for the king's secret weapon to do…whatever its supposed to do. Apparently, the king had some sort of contingency plan in place should the capital city of Fiore ever be threatened. He told them to wait for it to be unleashed before making their move. Ragna was a bit skeptical of this plan, not believing that this weapon can do shit against a Black Beast or its remains. With several hundred nuclear missiles couldn't do anything against the Black Beast, he doubted this weapon can do anything against it. Then again, it could be a magical weapon and Ragna knew that magical weapons can harm the Black Beast. Still, the magic here and from his world were far different from one another. Its entirely possible that this weapon will do nothing against their enemy and their forced to just rely on their them. So, they had to hope for the best, which almost never happens in Ragna's case. As he was wondering on what to do, he soon began to think about the rescue team.

" **Where the heck are they?"** Thought Ragna as he wondered where they were. **"It shouldn't have taken them this long to free Lucy and Yukino."** Even if they got caught, it shouldn't have taken long to get out and escape. Something was wrong. Walking over to Makarov, he voiced his concerns to the man. Upon hearing them, he grumbled in agreement.

"Its odd that they haven't returned yet." Said Makarov as he wondered. "With Erza, Natsu, and Mirajane in the rescue team, that should be more than enough to take care of any opposition they'll face."

"Should we send someone to find them?" Makarov just shook his head.

"Unfortunately, we can't. We need all able bodies to deal with this threat. Even if I was able to send one of you to find them, we don't know where they are. By the time we find them, these black creatures may already be upon us. If they're having trouble, I'm afraid they're on their own." Ragna just nodded in understanding. Before he could walk away, he suddenly felt the ground rumble along with everyone else.

"What is that?" Asked Levy as she tried to stay standing up. "Is it those creatures?"

"I don't think so. Otherwise we'd be hearing fighting about now." Said Gajeel as he looked around, finding nothing in sight. Soon the rumbling stopped and everyone began to look around, wondering what that was.

"Must be the king's weapon." Said Makarov as he looked around. "It must be quite large to be able to do something like that." Ragna just nodded, wondering what this weapon was and if it won't back fire on them. A few minutes later, Ragna began to feel a surge of energy coming from somewhere near the palace. Looking at Makarov, he saw that Makarov felt the surge too. His expression, however, told him he didn't like it.

"This magic." Said Makarov grimly. "It feels wrong." Ragna looked at Makarov at that.

"How?" Asked Ragna. Makarov just looked to the ground.

"Something about it…just feels wrong. Like it was siphoned off of something. If this is the weapon the kind was talking about, I'm going to talk to him about this. Whenever he likes it or not." Ragna just nodded before going back to minding his own business. As he was thinking to himself, Ragna's thoughts went back to that…thing he captured and sent to prison. That thing was made out of Seithr. Who or what made such a thing. He only of several people that could have a hand on that, but most were gone or destroyed. All except one, but he wasn't here in this world…right?

" **He can't be here."** Thought Ragna. **"He just can't be."** Eventually, he went back to the task at hand, which was waiting for whatever was coming here. His questions regarding the Seithr made man would have to wait.

As he waited for the weapon to do its magic, his grimoire suddenly began to hurt. Grabbing it, he looked to see that his arm was starting to glow.

" **The hell?"** Thought Ragna as he held his arm. Upon seeing his arm glowing, everyone looked at him in shock.

"The hells up with your arm?" Asked Gajeel as Ragna held his arm.

"Don't know." Said Ragna as he clutched his arm. "Never done something like this before." As he tried to get his Grimoire under control, he wondered what's causing this.

" **The hell is happening to my Grimoire."** Thought Ragna as he tried to stop it from glowing. **"Only times it did this was back when the Black Beast was starting to take over and when I'm releasing the power of the Grimoire. Neither is happening right now, so what the heck is happening?"** Before he could think, his arm was suddenly engulfed in black energy, which soon take form into a claw. His new claw hand then pointed toward the palace. A few seconds later, his arm returned to normal as if nothing happening. Looking at where his Grimoire pointed to, Ragna wondered what the heck it that was. **"Was my Grimoire telling me something? That something bad is happening right now?"** Before he could think on it, Makarov suddenly spoke up.

"What was that Ragna?" Asked Makarov, his voice firm but also filled with concern. Looking around him, Ragna saw everyone was looking a bit concerned for him after what they saw. Feeling a bit touched at that, Ragna just shrugged.

"Don't know." Said Ragna as he held his hand. "But I think my arm just wanted me to go to the palace. I don't know why, but I got to go there and figure out what my arm is trying to convey." Upon hearing that, Makarov just nodded.

"If you feel like its something that you need to do, then go do it. We can hold the line, even without you." Thanking Makarov, Ragna suddenly rushed toward the palace, going as fast as his legs can take him. He had just entered the courtyard when he noticed a large gate. Stopping a bit, he looked at the large gate.

"The hell." Said Ragna as he gazed at the gate. "That's the secret weapon?" Though Ragna knew that he shouldn't be judging a book by its cover, the sheer thought that the secret weapon to combatting the Black Beast and its remains was a gate just took his breath away. He was about to move on when he felt more and more power pouring into the gate. Looking back, he saw that the gate had some sort of mechanism on it that was slowly turning. He then suddenly got a bad feeling about the gate. Something about it seemed off. Walking over to it, Ragna saw the princess of Fiore, princess Hisui was standing before it with a man in white armor, an old man along with a great deal of soldiers. He heard about the princess and saw what she looked like from magazines. She was a small thing, around Noel's size. She was kind and gentle with her subjects and wanted what's best for her kingdom. She was the kind of ruler that Ragna can get behind. But seeing her here in armor, left him uneasy. Something felt wrong. When he was spotted, soldiers immediately rushed toward him and began to defend their princess. As they surrounded him, Ragna just sighed.

"Not here to fight. Was running toward the palace when I saw this giant gate. Got curious so I decided to come here." He then looked at the gate with a raised eyebrow. "That the secret weapon the king was on about before?" Before the soldiers could reply, Hisui suddenly spoke up.

"Let him through. He can be trusted." With that, the guards made way and allowed Ragna to walk toward Hisui. Upon arriving, he looked at the green-haired princess with hardened eyes. To his surprise, she starred him down, not afraid of him.

"May I ask why you're here, your highness?" The nonchalant way he said it made the man in white armor bristle in annoyance. Before he could reprimand Ragna, Hisui raised her hand.

"It's okay. I'm not offended." Hisui then looked at Ragna. "Well, to answer your question, I don't want to be away from the battlefield in a safe place while people fight for me and my kingdom. I'd rather be there fighting with them." Ragna opinion of her just skyrocketed upon hearing that. "Besides, this weapon here," She then pointed to the gate. ", is my responsibility. If anyone is going to be there when it saves the kingdom, it'll be the creator, right?" Ragna raised an eyebrow upon hearing that.

"You built this?" Asked Ragna.

"Well, more like helped in the process of creating it." Said Hisui. "I built it because I felt like it would help the kingdom immensely. It wasn't intended to be used as a weapon, but an informant of mine told me that it can be used as a weapon for the threat that'll come soon." When he heard that she was informed that it can be used as a weapon, Ragna looked at her in suspicion.

"Who told you that?" Asked Ragna. "Shouldn't you know more about your gate's capabilities more than anyone else?" Before she could answer, the man in white armor spoke.

"Her informant, believe it or not, came from the future." Said the man. Ragna's eyes widen upon hearing that. Though he knew that time travel was possible, him being an example, it was only through the power of Rachel and the boundary that it was possible for him to go to the past. To hear that someone else time traveled stunned him.

"You sure he's not joking around?" Asked Ragna. Hisui just shook her head.

"No, I'm afraid that he is from the future." She looked at Ragna seriously. "He predicted events in the Grand Magic Games to happen and they all came true. He predicted that you save Kagura from Minerva. He predicted that Fairy Tail will win without losing a single member. And he predicted that Sting will surrender to you all. There is just no way that anyone can predict such events with such accuracy unless they're from the future. Right?" Ragna just nodded. "So, I believe him. That this gate can save our kingdom." Ragna looked at the gate. Despite what she said, he still felt something was off. Call him pessimistic, but this was way too good to be true. There had to be a catch.

"I don't know. This sounds suspicious." Hisui just nodded.

"I know it is, but I believe the man. Besides, what would he gain by lying? The complete destruction of Fiore? What psychopath would want such a thing?"

" **Terumi to name one."** Thought Ragna as he looked at the gate, still not liking their predicament.

"Whether or not you agree with my plan, I'm going to go with it. You can disagree with me on this course of action, but that gate will open. There's simply too much at stake to not do so." Ragna just sighed and nodded, giving his consent. Hisui just nodded in thanks before going back to watching her gate be open. As they were watching, they suddenly saw papers coming around them. The papers soon formed into a body of a woman. The papers then burst away, revealing a familiar woman.

"Kamika?" Asked Ragna, raising an eyebrow at the woman. Kamika looked at Ragna, shocked to see him, before looking at Hisui.

"Princess Hisui. The Hungry Wolf Knights are at the perimeter of the palace as you instructed." Upon hearing that, Hisui looked at Kamika in confusion.

"What are you talking about? I never ordered such a thing?" Kamika looked confused at that before speaking again.

"But you sent a messenger to us, telling us to secure the palace's perimeter. To forget about the fairies in the palace and to just focus on the perimeter." Hisui just shook her head.

"You must be mistaken. I never ordered such things. Who told you this?" Kamika widened her eyes in horror before speaking.

"A man in strange armor. The armor hid his features completely. It was black with green highlights. The shoulder plates were in shapes of snakes along with the helmet. The helmet had dull green eyes and a small slot where the mouth would be. He had baggy pants that looked to be connected to the armor. His hands and feet were clawed. And the armor had hair that was long and slim. The man gave us a letter with the royal seal and everything." As the two began to speak about this, Ragna was frozen in place. Aside from a few major differences, Kamika's description of this armor was almost like…

" **No way…no damn way is it here. Trinity got rid of that thing. There's no damn way its here!"** Though his mind was telling him its just a coincidence. That it's just someone in armor that was similar to the Susanoo unit. As much as he wanted to believe it, his gut told him that it was indeed the Susanoo unit. And that meant only one thing. That Terumi…survived. **"God damnit. I thought I killed that snake once and for all! How can he be back!?"** Not wanting his emotions to get out of control, Ragna ran off, surprising everyone. When he was gone and he was certain that no one followed him, Ragna slammed his fist to the ground, creating a sizable hole.

"Damnit! Just when things were getting good for me, that damn snake comes back in my life! Why can't he just die!" After yelling that out, he began to calm himself, taking deep breaths. After getting his emotions in control, he straightened himself.

" **No more."** Thought Ragna. **"He doesn't have any influence on you anymore. Remember that. Think back to when you fought him last time."** He then remembered the last time they fought. How he felt nothing when he finally ended Terumi. Or so he thought apparently. **"No way am I going to lose control upon seeing him. If we fight again, it'll be as last time. With no unstable emotions. Just a want to end him and his desire to hurt people."** With that in mind, Ragna began to walk toward the palace. If Kamika was telling the truth, then Terumi must be inside, likely for the Fairy Tail members there. He had to move fast and now. Rushing toward the palace, he was about to go knocking down whatever door or window he found when he spotted someone approaching. Looking back, he saw Meredy and Ultear going through another door. Thinking they knew the way, he rushed toward them, hoping to catch up to them.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

* * *

"* **Laughs*** This is great!" Yelled the man as he was put in the face by Natsu. He simply laughed again as Natsu kicked him in the head again before he grabbed his leg and threw him to the wall. He then proceeded to slam him into the ground and slam his foot into his face repeatedly. As he began to draw blood, he was suddenly attack by Loke. The spirit was glaring at him as he launched another attack on him. It was clear to everyone that Loke was enraged over the man for hurting Lucy and was prepared to give it his all to defeating him. Unfortunately, the man just laughed at his attack before rushing toward Loke and grabbing his head. Before he knew it, the man crushed his head, forcing him back into the spirit world.

"Bah. Spirits. Can't get any satisfaction with them." Said the man before going back to Erza, who was struggling to get up because a wound on her leg. To her shame, the man managed to use her own attack against her by grabbing her arm and forcing her to stab herself with her own sword. Before he could break her arm, he was suddenly attacked by Natsu. But now, with Natsu and Wendy out of commission and Loke gone, she was the only one left to beat him. Getting up, she glared at him while panting. Seeing her still being defiant made the guy laugh. "So spirited. Just like that other red head. But this time." The man then brought out another butter knife. "There's not going to be a happy ending for you." He then slowly made his way to Erza, who was clutching her sword. She can't lose. Not now. If she did, all her friends will be in danger of being killed by this monster. And that was something that Erza refused to let become a reality.

" **I don't fight for myself or my own pleasure."** Thought Erza as she thought of her friends and all the good times they had together. **"I fight for my guilds and my friends!"** As if getting energy from remembering her friends, Erza felt a surge of energy fill her up. Looking at her opponent with renewed vigor, she charged at him, who looked stunned at her sudden movement. Before he knew it, she slashed at his arm, actually cutting it, and forcing him to drop his knife. Landing a few feet away from the man, Erza looked at the damage. She saw that black blood was dripping from the armor, showcasing that she wounded whoever was inside. Seeing this, Erza went into a fighting stance, ignoring her wounded leg.

"You actually wounded me." Said the man, impressed. To Erza's shock, the wound then began to heal. In a matter of seconds, the wound was gone. As if it never happened in the first place. "It seems I underestimated Fairy Tail after all. Tell me, what's your secret? Some hidden power? Training really hard? Or just plain lucky?" Erza just narrowed her eyes at his nonchalant way of speaking.

"Its our belief in our friends. Our family." Said Erza with conviction. "We draw strength from our companionship with others from our guild. We may insult with each other, but we have each other's backs when the real fighting occurs. We may fight with each other, but we'll fight together when injustice occurs. We may even cause emotional harm to each other, but in the end, we make up and forgive each other. That's what Fairy Tail is. A family that will always be there for each other when another in the family is in need. That's something that you can never understand. You only fought for yourself and your want for violence. You don't fight for anyone but that." The man just starred at Erza for a few moments before barking in laughter.

"Oh god!" Laughed the man as he slapped his head. "You honestly believe that stuff? Dear god, I knew you fairies were naïve, but I never thought this naïve. You're even more naïve than that red-haired noble I was talking about before. But enough about her, lets deal with you." The man then picked up his knife and, before Erza could do anything, he suddenly slammed his free hand to the ground. From where his hand hit, black and green energy erupted from the floor. The energy went all out and hit everyone. Both Lucys', Natsu, and Wendy were tossed around like ragdolls as the energy forced them to through either walls, breaking them, or further into the long hallway. Erza managed to hold on by equipping her adamantium armor, but by the time the energy was gone, the armor was in pieces. Before she could recover, the man grabbed her throat and slammed her into the ground. As she tried to kick him, the man just slammed his leg into her left leg, crushing it and causing her to scream in pain, which was soon muffled when he grabbed the lower end of her head. He then starred into her eyes with his own soulless green eyes. As they starred into each other, Erza couldn't help but feel afraid as he starred down into her.

They say that the eyes were the key to the soul. And it seemed, to Erza, that his eyes showed that this person was a sadistic killer that thrived in the misery of others and that she was his next victim. Bringing out his knife, the man's snake tongue slithered out as he bought it closer to her face, terrifying her.

"What a pretty face." Said the man as he brought the knife close. "A shame for it to be…maimed a lot." The knife's surface then touched her face, its edge ready to cut her skin. "Do actually worry. This will hurt a lot." He then began to drag the blade down with Erza doing her best to not scream as her skin was being cut off by the man. It was just about done with his first slice when the man felt a familiar presence. One that he hoped to come. Actually, laughing in joy, the man stopped what he was doing and slammed Erza to the ground repeatedly until she was knocked unconscious. With that done, he began to wait for his opponent to arrive.

" **Oh how I wanted a rematch."** Thought the man as he waited in anticipation. **"This will be fine, Ragna. A fight for the ages! Do hurry up. I don't think you'll like to see your friends' in any worse shape than right now."** Sure enough, Ragna made himself known with Ultear and Meredy. Upon seeing the carnage that the man brought out, the three's eyes widen in shock and horror.

"Erza!" Cried out Meredy as she tried to rush toward the fallen fairy, only for Ultear to stop her. The man just grinned as Ragna and Ultear glanced at him, either in anger or concern. The man just laughed upon seeing the glances.

"Like what I did?" Asked the man as he looked at his mess as if it was a work of art. "They didn't provide much sport, honestly. I hope that you got some new tricks up your shelves, Ragna. Cause I got a few more tricks up mine." Ragna just narrowed his eyes at that.

"Trust me Terumi, no matter what new tricks you have, it'll end like last time. With me beating you." Ragna then brought out blood scythe and got into a fighting stance. Ultear looked at him upon hearing that but went back to looking at the man in armor. Her curiosity would be sated later. Right now, they had to stop this man now. To their surprise, the man laughed out loud.

"You think I'm Terumi?" Asked the man. "Oh Ragna. You wound me. Didn't the armor give it away that I'm not Terumi. If it didn't then perhaps these will." The man then brought out two butter knives. "Who's the only fighter you know that used these in a fight." Upon seeing the knives, and getting a closer look on the armor, did Ragna realize who it really is.

"Hazama." Said Ragna as he narrowed his eyes. Hazama's snake tongue then slithered out of its hole.

"Bingo." Said Hazama. "And you can thank another good old friend of yours in getting me this armor. I must admit, the Susanoo isn't my style, but I must say, the power it gives is amazing. I feel like I can end the world with it on." Hazama then looked at Ragna. "But enough about that, let's go into what matters now. A rematch. This time with me in the Susanoo." With that, Hazama charged at Ragna, who just countercharged.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Kagutsuchi**

 **Time: Unknown**

* * *

At the very top of Kagutsuchi, in the NOL headquarters, a certain young boy was waiting for a certain two blond women to arrive. Looking at his hostage, he saw that she was as unresponsive as ever. His "men" were keeping a constant eye on her, nevertheless. She was still a Murakumo unit and thus dangerous to fight. Looking away from her, he looked at his puppet, the Nox Nyctores weapon Nirvana.

"Soon my plans will come to fruition and Ada will be reborn." Said the boy as he starred into his weapon and companion. To any stranger, the boy was just a well-dressed young man with an eyeglass with his other eyes covered by an opera eye mask. But to those who know him, he was Carl Clover, a drop out from the NOL military academy. For some reason, the boy dropped out, despite performing well in his classes. Though many don't know the exact reasons, rumors say that it had something to do with the sudden disappearance of his entire family. Since then, he's been off the grid, with most people that knew him forgetting about him as soon as they graduated, aside from a few. And Carl had just committed a horrible crime to one of the few that remembered him. As he looked at his weapon, Carl could have sworn he heard a voice, but he chalked it up to his paranoia. He soon looked toward the middle of the room, where a giant hole was in the ground. To most, it was just a hole, but Carl knew what it was. What it can do. And he intended to use it. He was about to think more into his plan when one of his servants appeared and gave him a piece of paper. Upon reading it, he nodded.

"Good." Said Carl. "Begin to restart the cauldron. When the other two arrive. Subdue them and send them all into the cauldron when I give the order. If their programming gets in the way, let me deal with it." The servant just nodded before going to do what he instructed. Meanwhile, Noel and Lambda were talking with a receptionist in the NOL HQ when they suddenly felt something was off. Their pupils suddenly dilated as they stood still.

"Ma'am? Are you okay?" Asked the receptionist as he saw them staying still. He was about to ask again when they both suddenly ran past him and into the HQ. "Hey!" Acting quickly, the man pressed an alarm button near his desk and suddenly the entire HQ was on high alert. As soldiers were approaching the two nuns, intending to arrest them, they were suddenly attack by the two, who either kicked them into submission or punched them so hard that they knocked them out. They did so without any regard and quickly rushed toward the stairs, taking out anyone that got in their way. As they made their way to the top, only one thought was in their mind.

" **Cauldron has restarted. Beginning reboot of units. Orders; find cause of restart and put end to it."**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **Sorry for how late this chapter is, but I had Finals coming up and I had to devote a lot of time into preparing for them. Fortunately, they're done now so I can focus a bit more on this.**

 **As a heads up for this chapter and the next one, the Black Beast will show some abilities that it wasn't explicitly said like breath attacks and a myraiad of others things. Also I gave a description of the Black Beast's body because I never came across any picture or description of it aside that it had tentacles and heads. So I came up with my own description, for the body at least.**

 **Wlyman2009- Yeah I know. Oh, I know, believe me. The sheer destructive force of the Susanoo won't be shown here yet, however.**

 **RoyalTwinFangs- Thank you**

 **AlexCephon- You'll see.**

 **AzureFlare- They will meet Ragna.**

 **Guests Boi- I won't cancel it, at least I don't have any plans to at the moment. The only time I canceled a story of mine was the Warhammer cross over one, but that was more due to my own ignorance and writing skills.**

* * *

 **Ragna**

* * *

Ragna clinked his tongue as he avoided a swipe from Hazama's buttery knives. He tried to counter but Hazama just slammed his foot to the ground, sending shockwaves around him. Getting caught, Ragna couldn't help but watch as Hazama punched him in the face, sending him flying. Grunting, Ragna quickly went to his feet and charged at Hazama. When he was a few feet away, Ragna slid under the man and, when he passed over him, he got up and sent a Hell Fang at Hazama. The punch sent Hazama to the ground, where he rest for a few moment, before getting up. When Hazama turned to face Ragna, however, the white-haired man punched him in the face before throwing a kick into his face. He then proceeded to use his sword and swung it into Hazama's rips. The sword, combined with the previous two hits, sent Hazama flying to a wall, which collapsed. With Hazama gone for now, Ragna looked to see Meredy and Ultear picking everyone up and escaping, Erza covering them. With them gone, Ragna looked to see Hazama getting back up, laughing.

"Oh man did I miss fighting you Ragna." Said Hazama as looked at Ragna, unphased with his attacks. "You always could provide a source of entertainment, whether its your foul mouth or fighting." Ragna just narrowed his eyes on that.

"And you've always been an annoyance, Hazama. Always getting on my nerves and that of others." Said Ragna to which Hazama just laughed out loud.

"Got that right! And its always entertaining to see people get rile up over a few words, you being a prime target. But, ever since that battle with Azazel, you've been harder to rile up. Like you've grown up. Can I say how proud I am to know that you've finally grown up to a responsible adult. It only took you a decade." Whatever attempt to rile Ragna up didn't work and the man just charged at Hazama, who did the same. Swinging his sword, Ragna wasn't surprised to see Hazama grabbed it and counter attack with his free hand. Freeing his Azure Grimoire and filling it with Seithr, he sent a Hell Fang at the fist coming at him. When the fists collided, it released a shockwave all around them, causing the ground, ceiling, and walls to give in, creating a large swathe of destruction from that one attack. Seeing this, Ragna began to think.

" **Damnit. Got to get this guy someplace away from here and the city! Someone might get hurt with all this destruction!"** With a yell, Ragna kicked Hazama in the face, sending him to a wall. He then launched a Hell Fang at him again before following up with another kick to the face. The combo of attacks finally broke the wall and Hazama was sent out of the hallway into a storage room, breaking crates as he fell. Laughing as he got up, Hazama threw a butter knife at Ragna, who deflected it easily. To Ragna's confusion, Hazama just chuckled as he charged again. Readying himself, Ragna was caught off guard when Hazama slid down and sent a fist to his chin. The punch, combined with the Susanoo's raw power, sent Ragna out the ceiling and to another room, causing him to go through a dining table and crashing into a crystal chandelier. Catching himself before he fell down to the hole and to Hazama, Ragna landed a few feet from the hole. As he dusted off a few shards of crystal in his hair, Hazama busted through the hole, landing a few feet from Ragna.

"Ready for round two Ragna?" Asked Hazama as he brought out another set of butter knives. Wondering where he was getting those, Ragna just yelled out before charging. Unbeknownst to him, however, this was all part of the plan set up by Hazama and another individual.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

* * *

A man in a cloak was chuckling to himself as he watched the Eclipse Gate was about to open. Oh, how the princess would be in a rude awakening when the gate finally opened.

" **That girl is too naïve for her own good."** Thought the man as he thought of how easy it was to manipulate her for his and Hazama's own ends. Unfortunately for her, she won't learn from her mistakes. As he watched the gate slowly open up, he frowned when he saw something that shouldn't be there. The two celestial wizards and the one from the future. Frowning, the man held his chin.

"Hmm, it appears Hazama has failed to eliminate them as instructed. A pity. I didn't intend to reveal myself, but I suppose recent events have forced my hand." With that the man proceeded to the vicinity of the eclipse gate, prepared to stop the celestial wizards from preventing his grand plan.

* * *

 **Lucy**

* * *

"You have to stop the gate from opening." Said the future Lucy as the others, including Meredy and Ultear, confronted the princess, despite the fact she was surrounded by hundreds of guards, Arcadios, and the executioners. Though the princess was shocked to see two Lucys, that quickly went away when the future one begged her to prevent the gate from opening. Though her guards were ready to escort them away, Hisui was willing to let the girl speak.

"Why is that?" Demanded Hisui. "If you're from the future, then you must know what is coming, correct?" The future Lucy nodded. "And did you know that another person from the future came and told me what is to come and what is needed to be done to save us from annihilation?" The future Lucy then shook her head.

"You're being deceived, princess, believe me. Whomever told you that the eclipse gate needed to be open wants those things to come here." Everyone then looked at her, wondering where she was getting at. Even the Fairy Tail team was wondering as she had just brought this up. "I didn't think it was possible at first, but when I saw that man in armor, I knew that something was amiss. I went through my journal again," She then brought out a small notepad. "To see if I'm not mistaken, but I wasn't. I completely forgot. You see, back during the invasion of those monsters, Fairy Tail sent a small team to the palace, to rescue you and the king. When we got there, we saw those things guarding the ruins of the eclipse gate. We didn't think much of it at the time, so we ignored them. But when we were sneaking past them, I noticed that one of them was looking straight at me. At first, I froze, thinking I just doomed me and my whole team, but the thing just ignored me. It just stayed put, staring at me. I was so engrossed at this that Erza had to drag me away. Since then, I didn't think much of it aside from jotting it down on my journal and possible theories on those things were guarding it. I thought that they were insane theories so I didn't think much of them but when I saw that man in armor, here, trying to stop us, it got me thinking. And this feeling of energy coming from the gate." She then shivered as the feeling got worse. "Its exactly like the feeling I got whenever those things were nearby." She then looked at Hisui with pleading eyes. "I know it isn't much, and you have every right to be skeptical, but please believe me when I beg of you to stop the eclipse gate from opening. Otherwise, the whole kingdom will perish." Hisui looked at her pleading eyes and hesitated. From the looks of this Lucy, her feelings were genuine, and she was on the verge of crying. This wasn't a woman that would lie for her own gain, this was someone that was desperate to save the entire nation. Biting her lip, Hisui wondered on who to trust. The man from before or this Lucy. Before she could give her answer, however, a knife suddenly whizzed threw the air and went through the future Lucy's throat. Widening her eyes in horror, Hisui watched as the life from the future Lucy's eyes faded away as she slumped to the ground.

"LUCY!" Yelled Natsu as he rushed to the future Lucy, despite his injuries. The other fairies began to cry and hold their mouths as Natsu tried desperately to save her. Amidst all this, Hisui spotted someone approaching. Looking over, she gasped when she saw a man in a cloak coming at them.

"Forgive me for that, but I needed to do that." Said the man as he brought out two more knives. "Along with this." He then expertly threw the knives at Lucy and Yukino, who had just arrived with Mirajane. The knives would have killed them when Erza deflected the one coming at Lucy and Mirajane just grabbed the one for Yukino, now in her Sitri form. The fairies, upon seeing the man just try to kill their friends, made them glare at him in hate and anger.

"What is the meaning of this?" Demanded Hisui as her guards began to surround the man with Arcadios staying near her, willing to law down his life for her. The man just chuckled as he looked at them.

"Simply trying to prevent the gate from being closed, princess." Said the man while looking at the gate seeing that it was fully opening, causing him to chuckle. "After all, my plans would be futile if they don't come." Upon hearing that, Hisui widened her eyes in horror, realizing that she's been fooled. Before she could order the gate to be closed, they all heard the roar that deafened all their ears. This was soon followed up with another roar and another and another before seven more roars were heard. Looking at the gate, everyone's eyes widen in horror as eight black heads with red outlines made their way out of the gate followed by a large blob-like body. Upon fully getting out of the gate, the monster roared out. Once it ended, it looked at the humans surrounding it, growling in anticipation. Without a 2nd thought, one of its heads slammed on a large group of soldiers, squashing them all, before sweeping it back and forth, sending more flying, causing them to snap their necks the moment they landed on the ground. Upon seeing the massive monsters killing so many of their comrades, the soldiers all began to run away in fear. The fairies, meanwhile, were looking at it in horror. The sheer power it was emitting was immense, easily eclipsing the like of Acnologia and perhaps even Zeref himself.

While that one head was going back and forth on the ground, the others either looked at the city on the horizon or looking at the few that stayed, eyeing them all with hungry eyes. Eventually, the creature began to move on the city, finding it more enticing than a few humans. As the creature began to make its movement to the city, the man began to leave, the fairies all to distracted by the beast to notice him leaving. As he left, the man chuckled.

" **All is proceeding as planned."** Thought the man as he ran. " **Even if they all survive, no one will believe that I assisted in releasing that beast. Now it's up to Hazama to stop Ragna from destroying that gate."**

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Ragna**

* * *

When Ragna heard the roars, his eyes widened in horror. Hazama, however, laughed out loud.

"Oh yes!" Exclaimed Hazama as he stopped fighting with Ragna to bask in the glory of his plan coming to fruition. "Its here. The Black Beast is here!" Upon hearing that, Ragna widened his eyes in horror. He'd witnessed first hand of the destruction that a Black Beast can cause when he went back in time. If this Black Beast remained any longer, there was no telling how much damage it can do.

" **Need to get the hell out of here!"** Thought Ragna before engaging Hazama again, knowing that he had to beat him first before he could do anything else. Engulfing his Grimoire in Seithr, Ragna yelled out before punching Hazama in the face. The force caused Hazama to fly through a wall and out to the castle courtyards. Pursuing Hazama, Ragna saw the Black Beast making its way to the city. Clenching his fists at seeing it, Ragna, to his reluctance, focused on Hazama. As Hazama was getting up, he senses Ragna coming for him. With a practiced hand, Hazama dodged out of the way of Ragna's Hell's fang before throwing a butter knife at Ragna's other arm. Grunting a bit as the knife connected, Ragna pulled the knife out and tossed it away, looking at Hazama as he got on his two feet.

"Better hurry, Ragna." Said Hazama as his snake tongue came out again. "The longer that this Black Beast remains here, the more people that'll die. People that you know and have gotten to see as friends, even family. Oh, I wonder who will croak first?" Hazama then put a finger on his chin. "Maybe that tiny blue-haired woman? Maybe that girl with the ribbon on her head? Or maybe that little girl? Oh, I can just imagine the Black Beast devouring her up like a little snake. I wonder how she would taste like. I would pay to see that." As Hazama began to think of that scenario, Ragna was clenching his fists. He knew that Hazama was trying to get to him, trying to make him give in to his rage. It'll make it easier for him, after all. And Ragna was trying to keep his emotions in check, but it was difficult with how he's doing it. Saying how he would enjoy the sight of little Asuka being eaten by the Black Beast, all scared and screaming, really made his blood boil. If there was anything that can piss Ragna off and make give into his rage was when people start to hurt innocent people, along with people he loved, just to get to him. And while Hazama wasn't saying he'll do it, the fact that he wishes the Black Beast to do it and speaking the possible scenarios were still working. Taking a deep breath, Ragna charged and fired a Hell's Fang at him. Grabbing it with ease, Hazama laughed before punching Ragna in the face, sending him crashing to a statue. Breaking it as he made contact, Ragna landed on his feet and charged Hazama again, who charged as well. Sending their fists to each other, their connected fists, once again, caved in the land around them.

* * *

 **Kagutsuchi**

* * *

Carl was busy making some last-minute preparation to his plans.

" **Everything needs to be flawless!"** Thought Carl as he went through his notes. **"This is my last chance to bring Ada back. If this doesn't work…"** As if sensing his distress, Nirvana placed a clawed hand on his shoulder. Brushing it away, Carl ridiculed his doll.

"I don't need your comfort, doll." Said Carl, rudely. "Just do your job of protecting me and we'll get along just fine. Don't do anything else that you're incapable of doing." The doll remained emotionless to his cruel words, but Carl, for some reason, detected some sadness coming from it. Making a note to look into this, Carl finished going over his notes when the door leading to the very top of Kagutsuchi were thrown off their hinges. As the doors crashed into the opposing wall, the two remaining Murakumos arrived, their eyes totally blank. Just as Carl predicted.

"Cease operations." Said the Murakumo known as Mu-12. Her fellow Murakumo was observing their surroundings, seeing that there were several of Carl's men near him, readying their swords. Though outnumbered, she didn't seem phased. Rather, she just starred blankly at everyone. Getting up, Carl looked at the two Murakumos.

"Excellent." Said Carl. "Why have one Murakumo when I can have all three?" He then snapped his fingers. On que, two of his men, from the ceiling, dropped on the two Murakumos. The two tried to fight back, but more ganged up on them. Kicking one in the shin, Lambda had her head smashed in the floor. As the man continued to slam her head on the floor, he was suddenly stabbed by several large claws before being tossed away. Carl glared at the slumped form of his "man", angry with him. "Fool! I need them all stable! You!" Carl then pointed to another of his soldiers. "Check her." Silently, the man examined Lambda. Aside from a few bruises and a broken nose, the woman was fine. Giving a nod to signify that she was fine, the man went back to his original position of holding Noel at bay. Slightly relieved that Lambda was fine, Carl walked up to the Murakumos and knelled down at Noel, who still had that soulless expression on her face.

"Noel Vermillion, or rather Mu-12." Upon hearing that, Noel winced a bit, but still had that soulless expression. "You and your sisters are going to acquire a piece of equipment that is vital to my mission. You will do this or you will suffer the consequences." Starring at Carl with soulless eyes, Noel responded.

"Individual known as Carl Clover has no authorization. Unit 12." Noel winced but continued to speak. "Has no obligation to follow Carl Clover. Neither does Unit 11 and 13. Release units or be regarded as an enemy that needs to be terminated." Scoffing at that, Carl looked at the man guarding Nu before snapping his fingers. Silently, the two men removed Nu from her bindings and laid her on the ground. While one held her done, the other brought out his great sword and placed it near Nu's neck.

"Do my request or your sister." The soldier holding the sword pressed it lightly on Nu's neck, causing her to bleed slightly. "Gets decapitated. Decide now." After a few minutes passed, Carl received now answer. Sighing, he motioned his man to cut Nu's head off. "You asked for this." As the man raised his sword, Noel's eyes began to wipe themselves off their soulless state, along with Lambda. They had returned to normal just as the man swung his sword at Nu's neck.

"NU!" Yelled Noel and Lambda as they watched the sword go down. When the name was yelled out, the soldier suddenly stopped, his blade inches from Nu's neck. Smirking, Carl looked at Noel, now back to normal.

"Are you willing to cooperate now, Noel?" Asked Carl, ignoring the sigh of relief from the two other Murakumos as well as their tears. Coughing a bit, Carl forced Noel to look at him. "Well, are you?" Glaring at Carl, Noel spoke up.

"Fine." Said Noel, firmly, despite the fear she felt. "Just let my sisters go."

"No." Said Carl, getting up. "What I desire is somewhere in a place where I can't go without destroying myself. You three can go to this realm, though." He then turned to Noel. "All I ask is for you three to retrieve the item of my desire and I'll let you all go, so long as you promise not to reveal what happened here. You have my word." Frowning at Carl, Noel looked around her. Though she was a skilled fighter, having went to a NOL military academy during her teenage years, she knew she was outmatched. Between the, at least, eight soldiers with giant swords, Carl had a Nox Nyctores with him. The doll Nirvana. Not to mention she had no idea if Carl had gotten stronger over the years or not. Even if she escaped, she refused to leave Lambda and Nu behind, Nu especially since she can't move at all. Knowing that she had no choice, Noel nodded.

"You better leave us alone after this, Carl." Said Noel, hiding the venom in her voice. Carl just nodded his head.

"I have no desire to harm you or your sisters, Noel, believe me." For a moment, Noel heard a miniscule amount of sincere regret in Carl's voice. That caused her to have a bit of hope for Carl. That the little boy she met during her time in the academy was still there. Though that hope was dashed when Carl spoke again with a callousness that scared her. "But for the sake of my sister, I will do what it takes to bring her back. Besides, it would be pointless waste of resources and time on my part to invest more time on you and your sisters." Upon hearing that, Noel actually shuddered upon hearing that. This was a far cry to the Carl she used to know. Gone was the boy that was shy, but friendly. Here was someone that was cold, calculating, and didn't care how he hurt in order to achieve his goals.

" **What happened to you Carl?"** Thought Noel as Carl snapped his fingers. In a few moments, some of his men left to go get something. Wondering what it was, Noel then heard them drag something on the floor. Whatever it was, it was heavy. After a few more seconds of hearing the sounds of screeching metal, there was several loud thuds as something hit the ground. It was then that her guards let her go, allowing her to stand up.

"You may want to use that, along with your sisters." Said Carl, pointing behind her. Curiosity getting the best of her, Noel turned around and gasped. On the ground, some distance away from her, were three large, sword-shaped items on the ground. They all were similar in design except for the colors. One was yellow, black, and a bit of blue on the sides. The other was light blue, white, and a little red. The last one was blue, light blue, yellow, and white. And aside from a difference in design in the cross guard in the forms of spikes or arrows, they were all identical to one another. Despite having never seen any of those swords before, Noel couldn't help but think that she knew those things, for better or worse.

"You have no idea how long I've tried to acquire these Nox Nyctores." Said Carl, ignoring Noel's wonder of the swords. The NOL have them under lock up with the help of Sector Seven, surprisingly. It took me some time to break into the vault they were in, but it was worth it. These should help you in your journey." With that he turned to Noel. "Simply touch the swords and they'll do the rest." Lambda, who was silent for most of this, spoke up.

"Inquire. What is the location of where this item you seek?" Carl simply smirked.

"Well, the boundary, of course." Upon hearing that, Lambda and Noel's eyes widen in shock. The boundary was the plain of existence from where all Seithr, the substance used in today's world, came from. The boundary was uncharted and undocumented as the sheer amount of Seithr in it can kill a human being within seconds. Not even the most advanced drones can survive in the boundary for long. To hear that Carl was sending them all was beyond suicidal in their minds.

"Are you insane, Carl?" Asked Noel, shock and horror in her eyes. "The boundary is full of Seithr. No human can survive in there. They'll die the moment they enter it!" Carl simply raised his hand.

"No normal human can." Agreed Carl. "But a Murakumo unit can. You remember what a Murakumo is right, Noel?" Noel, in fact did, back during the military academy they had a course about the nine Nox Nyctores created by the hero Konoe Ayatsuki Mercury. Though only nine were created by the hero during the Great Dark War, it was rumored that she had created a tenth Nox Nyctores called the Murakumo after the war. Though it was just a rumor, the teachers thought it was something worth mentioning. Wondering where Carl was going at, Noel inquired.

"Where are you going with this, Carl?" Asked Noel. "Even if I had the largest results in the Ars Magus compatibility test, that doesn't mean I can wield a Nox Nyctores, much less my sisters." She was stunned when Carl laughed at that.

"You don't know who you really are, do you?" Asked Carl with amusement. "You're a Murakumo unit, an artificially created being created for the purpose of using the Murakumo and to enter the boundary, unharmed." Stunned, Noel looked at Carl in disbelief.

"You're delusional, Carl!" Said Noel, though her voice was cracking. "I'm the adopted daughter of the Vermillion family! I'm a nun in a church with my sisters! I'm not some lab experiment!" Carl sighed at that.

"Its true, Noel." Said Carl as he looked at Noel in the eye. Upon seeing his mask, Noel flinched. Despite knowing that it was fake, the mask that covered Carl's eye was creeping her out. She didn't know why, but it reminded her of someone. Someone very unpleasant. Nevertheless, the look on Carl's uncovered eye told her that he was telling the truth, despite her attempts to deny it. "You're an artificial being created for the sole purpose of destruction and traveling to the boundary. Even your parents don't know your true origins." His doll then put its hand on his shoulder while looking at him. Nodding in agreement as if it was speaking to him, Carl looked back at Noel. "Much as I would want to indulge you on this more, I'm on a tight schedule. You and your sisters will touch those swords, acquire what I want, or else little Nu will get her head chopped off." As if to emphasize his point, one of Carl's men brought out his sword. Gritting her teeth, Noel looked at Lambda, who nodded.

"What is it that you want in there?" Asked Noel. Carl simply smirked.

"The armor of Hakumen himself." Said Carl. Noel and Lambda widened their eyes in shock upon hearing that. After a few moments, Noel spoke.

"Hakumen's armor? The same Hakumen of the six heroes?" Carl nodded. "Why would you want that?"

"My mission." Said Carl simply. "That is all I'm willing to divulge. Take the swords." Noel just bit her lip. With a sigh, she went over to the swords and examined them. Looking at them all, she felt something about them that felt…warm. Like that they belonged to her and her sisters. As she passed them all, her eyes fell down to the one with the most colors. For some reason, it was calling to her, begging to be touched by her. Hesitantly, Noel touched the sword. Upon touching it, Noel felt a surge of memories coming right at her. Holding her head with her free hand, her mind ached as she began to see images of her and a little girl.

" **You have to accept this part of you."** Said the girl as she watched as Noel, an image at least, walked over to a, shockingly, another Noel, this one wearing the strange armor in her nightmares. **"Will you?"** The image of her in an NOL uniform just nodded.

" **Yes. Even if this part of me was suppose to bring ruin and destruction, its still a part of me. If I just deny its existence, it'll just come back to haunt me."** Nodding in satisfaction, the little girl spoke up.

" **Then hold out your hands. She'll accept you now."** As if on que, the image of Noel grabbed the hands of the Noel with strange armor. Upon touching each other, the two Noels glowed brightly, so brightly that the real Noel had to close her eyes. Once the brightness faded away, Noel saw that only the one in the strange armor remained, but for some reason, she suspected that the two actually fused with one another. Upon seeing only one Noel, the girl smiled. " **Well done, Miss Vermillion. We're one step closer to stopping Terumi."** With that, the image stopped, bringing Noel back into the real world. Looking back at the sword, Noel clenched her fists.

" **That image. This thing is resurfacing memories I never had. Yet…I felt like I actually had them. What's going on?"** Thought Noel as she looked at the sword. Frowning, she grabbed the sword. This time, when she touched the sword, a bright light surrounding them. The bright light quickly ended, but in its place was Noel, in the same armor that was in her nightmares. Pursing her lips upon noticing the revealing armor, she looked at Carl, confidence filling her.

"Now this Carl." Said Noel, firmness in her voice that Noel normally wouldn't have possessed. "If you go after us again, then you'll regret it." Actually wincing at the threat, Carl nodded.

"Just get me Hakumen's armor and we won't see each other anymore." Said Carl. Glaring at Carl for a moment, Noel then looked at Lambda and nodded. Lambda, knowing that this had to be done to save them all, walked over to the swords and touched the one that called to her. Upon touching it, a bright light surrounded her like Noel. When the light ended, Lambda was also wearing armor, but it was different than Noels'. Like Noel, she had armor on her shoulders and legs. But unlike Noel, she had a visor with one glowing red eye that covered her face. She also had her long hair tied in a braid with a sword like charm. She also wore a tight black body suit with it. Frowning a bit at seeing the suit, Noel stopped when Lambda began to shake her head.

"Are you okay, Lambda?" Asked Noel in concern. Shaking for a few more moments, Lambda suddenly stopped and looked at Noel.

"I'm…fine, Noel." Said Lambda, uncertainty in her voice. Looking at her in worry, Noel looked at Carl.

"We're not leaving our sister with you." Said Noel. Carl just closed his eyes.

"That is fine. I trust that you'll get what I asked." Said Carl. Looking at the men taking care of Nu, he nodded. Upon seeing that, the men grabbed Nu and forced her to touch the remaining sword. Like Noel and Lambda, a bright light surrounded Nu and the sword. When it was gone, Nu was wearing armor similar to Lambda's, only she had a light blue bodysuit instead of black. Despite the change, Nu still remained in a coma. "Now that you're all suited up, I'll open the entrance to the boundary. It'll only take a couple of minutes." With that, Carl ordered his men to begin activating the cauldron. As the men worked, Noel looked at Lambda. Despite wearing a visor that covered her eyes, Noel saw that she was worried as well. Giving her a look of comfort, she quietly mouthed to Lambda that everything will be alright. Trusting Noel's judgement, Lambda looked at the inactive cauldron. Unknown to anyone but her, Lambda was thinking about what her sword had shown her. It wasn't much, just the man from her and Noel's dream confronting her. He had a look of sorrow on his face while she had a look of calmness. She watched as the man put reached out for her, only to be taken away from her. Looking at the ground, Lambda wondered who this man was and what his relations was to her and her sisters.

* * *

 **Ragna**

* * *

" **I'm ending this now!"** Thought Ragna before forming a claw with his Azure Grimoire, which is his free hand. Once it completely formed, Ragna thrusted it at Hazama. Seeing it, he used his free hand to try to stop it, but all he was capable of doing was slowing it down to a crawl. As the claw was making its way to Hazama's chest, Hazama laughed.

"Come on Ragna? Really want to say good bye to a friend that easily?" Asked Hazama as he put his remaining strength to stopping the hand. Ragna just clinked his tongue.

"If its you, then yeah." Hazama then laughed out loud as he heard that.

"You wound me, Ragna." Said Hazama. "Fortunately for me," His armored then began to glow. Sensing danger, Ragna jumped to the air, stopping his attack, and watched as Hazama tried to headbutt him, only to hit air. But that wasn't the end, dashing toward Ragna, Hazama grabbed him and slammed him into the ground, creating a crater. He then tried to stomp on his face, but Ragna grabbed his foot. With a yell, he tossed Hazama away. With a laugh, Hazama landed on the ground on his feet.

"Man, I miss this." Said Hazama. "Fighting you always brought a thrill that no one else can bring. No wonder Terumi wanted to toy with you so badly. A pity he isn't here anymore to torment you. I guess I'll have to be a substitute."

"Believe me, Hazama." Said Ragna as he got up. "You're going to end up just like him."

" ***Laughs*** I doubt that. As much as I enjoy the thought of being the one to rip out your throat, I know I can't do it right now. Not with the current power of this suit." Upon hearing that, Ragna raised an eyebrow. Was the Susanoo damaged in some way? It was possible, he did some damage to it during his battle with Terumi while he was wearing it. Before he could think on it more, he heard the roar of the Black Beast. Looking at the city, his eyes widened in horror upon seeing the thing ravage the town. He saw blasts of magic hitting it, but the monster wasn't going down. If anything, it felt amusement at the resistance of the people before killing them by slamming one of its heads at them or sending a tentacle at them. The destruction and havoc the Black Beast was causing brought dread to Ragna's heart. He knew all about the destruction a Black Beast can do to a planet from books and brief history lessons with Jubei, but to actually see it first hand was daunting.

" **I have to help! I just got to! I'm not going to let more people die!"** Thought Ragna as he clenched his fists. Hazama, meanwhile, relished in the anger and despair Ragna was feeling. It was truly nourishing. He then cracked a smile when Ragna turned to him, anger in his eyes.

"But first, I'm going to take you down, Hazama!" Yelled Ragna before transforming Blood Scythe into its scythe form. Once it was in the scythe form, red energy coursed through the blade on both ends. Seeing this, Hazama laughed. He then roared as he summoned a green and black sword.

"Its time to end this fight!" Yelled Hazama before slashing out with Ragna following. Their weapons clashed, sending shockwaves all over them that destroyed their surroundings. Trees were uprooted and tossed aside, stone walls demolished, and glass windows broken into tiny pieces. If anything was near them, they would have been sent flying away from the sheer shockwaves alone. Yet despite the power of their weapons clashing, the two combatants held their ground, completely oblivious to the destruction that they were causing. Instead, they kept fighting, clashing their weapons repeatedly. As they continued to clash, Ragna came up with a crazy idea. Just as their weapons were about to clash for the tenth time, Ragna suddenly slide towards Hazama as his weapon swung, hitting nothing but air. Ignoring the gust of wind, Ragan yelled as he transformed his weapon back into its sword form before stabbing it at Hazama's chest. Through the hit didn't pierce the armor, that didn't stop Ragna from engulfing his Azure Grimoire with Seithr, transforming it into a claw and then grabbing Hazama with it. After grabbing Hazama, Ragna lifted him up into the air and sent multiple tendrils at him. As the tendrils hit, Ragna felt his energy and life force being restored. Clinking his tongue, he then tossed Hazama aside after the barrage ended. Sprawled on the ground, Hazama chuckled as he got up.

"You still got it, Ragna." Said Hazama weakly as he got up. Despite taking a massive beating, Hazama was still able to get up. The Susanoo unit, unsurprisingly, held up and likely presented his demise. Still, it didn't prevent Ragna's attacks from absorbing Hazama's life force, which is why Hazama was so exhausted. "Either that or my skills have dulled. Eh, not fighting for a while can do that." He then laughed out loud before suddenly grunting in pain, holding his chest. "Well, this would normally be where you finish me off, but I have a back up plan." Hazama then snapped his fingers. As if on que, several men with uniforms similar to the man that Ragna arrested appeared and surrounded Ragna. "Its your choice Ragna, either finish me and deal with these guys later, thus letting the Black Beast run rampant in the city more, killing more and more people, or letting me go to stop the Black Beast, so that a few people can be saved. What's it going to be?" Ragna glared at Hazama. Clenching his fists, Ragna pondered his choices. On one hand, Ragna wanted to end Hazama right now. Even though he didn't hate Hazama as much as Terumi, he knew that the man was dangerous. When took Rachel's memories, he saw what Hazama did to her and it caused him to hate him to no end. No one hurt his friends like that. And his brief interactions with Hazama told him that he was just as sadistic, if not more so, than Terumi. If he let him go now, there's no telling how many people he'll murder or torture for his own pleasure. But on the other, he saw the destruction that the Black Beast was causing to the city. The mages were doing their best, but they just don't have the firepower to take it down. Only he, and he alone, had the power to stop it and that was a long shot. He remembered how he stopped the Black Beast when he went back in time. Even though he only caused it to rest for a whole year, it saved humanity and allowed Nine to give humanity the tools to defeat it. As his mind pondered on what to do, he remembered the Fairy Tail guild. How they were so kind, if a bit crazy, to each other. How kind they were to him, despite not knowing anything of his past. And he also remembered Kagura. The beautiful woman that became a good friend of his. He remembered Wendy, the cute little Dragon Slayer that was now fighting that thing along with everyone else. Just imaging her dying to the Black Beast made his blood go cold. Growling to himself, Ragna just ran away toward the Black Beast. Seeing this, Hazama laughed.

"You've grown soft Ragna." Said Hazama, chuckling despite the pain it caused. As his men began to support him, Hazama thought of how much fun he had.

" **Even if the Black Beast gets sent back to where it belongs, it doesn't matter."** Thought Hazama. **"By the time they do so, we'll already have what we came for."**

* * *

 **Fairy Tail**

* * *

"Watch out!" Yelled Gray as another tentacle smashed into a building, trying to hit Juvia along with a few others. Fortunately, it missed, but Alzack, Bisca, and a handful of mages from Blue Pegasus got hit with incoming rumble. The Black Beast then roared before sending a mouth to devour some Mermaid Heel and Quatro Cerberus members. Kagura tried to stop it with her gravity magic and sword, but all either did was annoy the head. It then continued it trek and swallowed some mages in its mouth before rearing back and swallowing. Crying out in horror, Kagura watched as the other heads began to their own destruction, either devouring mages or destroying the city.

"God damnit! How do you stop this thing!?" Yelled Gray as Juvie walked up to him. They threw everything at him, unison raids, combined arms tactics, even Makarov threw everything he had at a single punch on the thing's body. Only for the bloody thing to shrug it all off and proceeded to kill those that couldn't escape its retaliation, either in the form of tentacles grabbing and squeezing mages to death, or using its heads to either use a breath attack or to devour them whole. No matter what they did, the thing continued to destroy the city and it frustrated him. Grunting in pain, Erza went up to Gray, having meet up with the rest of the guild with the rest of the rescue group.

"Don't give up!" Yelled Erza, holding her stomach. Despite Wendy healing her wounds, the attacks from that man in armor still hurt. "Even if we fall today, we can at least give the civilian population time to escape."

"I know that!" Yelled Gray in frustration. "But what can we do to stop it? We tried everything but that thing isn't going down! Its like Acnologia but worse!" Nodding in agreement, Erza glared at the monster, wondering on what to do, when she heard some yelling.

"Guys!" Yelled out Lucy as she ran up to them, a book in hand. Panting in exhaustion as she arrived, she held out a book. "This book. Its from the future me and it may contain the way to beat that thing." Hearing that, Erza looked at Lucy with hope before asking her to spill it out. As Gray watched the two begin to read the book, he wondered what the hell Lucy meant with future her. He couldn't ask her when he heard the roar of the Black Beast. Looking at the monster, his heart stopped when he saw Makarov wrestling the beast, grabbing all its heads in an effort to snap all their necks.

" **How can the old man keep kicking after those bites?"** Thought Gray as he eyed the bloody stains of his pants, coat, and body, worrying for Makarov's safety. Makarov, after learning that the civilian population was completely evacuated, went all out on the monster, growing to the size of a giant, almost as tall as the Black Beast, intending to stop it right there and then. To accomplish this, he put so much power into a single punch that caused earthquakes in the ground. The punch hit the beast's body, but to everyone's shock, the punch did nothing. After the attack ended, the beast retaliated by sending three heads to chomp on Markarov's body. One went for Makarov's left leg, one went for his right arm, and the last went for the midsection. As Makarov screamed in pain and the others in horror, the heads bit down hard before ripping out a sizable portion of Makarov's flesh from those body parts. As the heads eat the portions they took out, Makarov in pain and shock, shrunk down to his normal size and fell to the ground, where he was saved by his grandson, who then took him to the recently arrived Wendy and Shelia, a mage with the Blue Pegasus guild, who can also heal. The beast must have thought that was the end of Makarov because the heads looked surprised when Makarov went back to a gigantic size again and grabbed all of the heads, similar to the way a snake handler handled a snake. The heads tried to move, but the grip Makarov had on the heads prevented them from moving much. As Makarov tried to snap the necks of the heads, the Black Beast transformed its tentacles to sharp spears. With a roar, the now spears stabbed at Makarov's chest. Gritting his teeth, Makarov continued to struggle as he glared at the beast, who simply glared back. It was then that the Black Beast pulled off a new trick. Dissolving into a mist like-substance, the black mist went above Makarov and, before the mage can do anything, reshaped into the Black Beast and slammed down on Makarov, crushing him with its weight. As Makarov struggled under the weight of the Black Beast, the heads were about to finish him off when they sensed something approaching. Looking around in confusion, the heads eventually found the source to be the Grim Reaper himself, rushing toward the Black Beast.

"Get off him!" Yelled Ragna as he ran towards the Black Beast, sword in its scythe form. Using a collapsed building as leverage, Ragna jumped into the air, straight for one of the heads. Once he was in striking range, he swung his sword into the head's right eye, plunging it deep within it. Roaring in pain, the head began to spasm uncontrollably as Ragna plunged his sword deeper. Sensing a counter attack, Ragna got out of the way as the head began to slam its side with the sword on the ground, hoping to get Ragna as well. Fortunately for the Grim Reaper, he managed to jump off before the head can slam down. Landing on his feet and running to the Fairy Tail guild. He turned around to see the remaining heads looking at him, anger in their eyes. Getting off of Makarov, who shrunken back to his normal size, the Black Beast began to move toward Ragna, ignoring the attacks from mages, who were emboldened from Ragna's attack. As it approached, Erza yelled out.

"Ragna! We may have a way to defeat that thing! But we need you to distract it for awhile! Get that things attention!" Yelled Erza as she watched Lucy leave.

"Uh yeah. Already accomplished!" Yelled Ragna before dodging a breath attack from one head before another went in and slammed Ragna with its neck, sending him flying away until he crashed into a tower. Crashing through it, Ragna eventually landed in the ground, creating a shockwave. Coughing out some blood, Ragna got up, relieving some tension on his bones as he did so.

" **God damnit. This thing is even stronger than the one from the past."** Thought Ragna as he watched as the beast moved in on him, as if drawn to him. **"Whatever the hell you guys are doing, then you better do it fast."** Ragna then began to run, hoping to draw the beast away from the city so that he can minimize damage. Unfortunately, the Black Beast just transformed into a mist again and flew towards Ragna. Going several hundred meters ahead of him, the mist transformed back into the Black Beast, who roared at Ragna as he stopped. " **Well should have seen that coming."** Ragna then brandished his sword and readied himself. He waited until two heads came at him, jaws opened. Jumping up to avoid the heads, Ragna landed on top of one and began to stab at the Beast's head. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't as much as dent the skin. Seeing that Ragna was on top of one of its heads, the Black Beast sent another head to swallow Ragna whole. As the head approached him, the Black Beast suddenly stopped and instead roared in pain. This allowed Ragna to instead hit the ground, landing safely on his feet. As he watched the Black Beast roar in pain, he wondered what the heck was going on.

"Thank god that you're safe!" Yelled Meredy as she ran up to Ragna. Looking at the girl, he asked what the heck did she do, having a feeling that she was the cause. "My magic. I linked the monster with a wounded mage in pain. So whatever that mage is feeling, its feeling as well." As the Black Beast writhed in pain, it eyed Meredy. "It should give us enough time for us to come up with a plan to take it down."

"Sorry, Meredy, but there's no plan to take it down. Not with us, at least." Said Ragna as he brought out his sword. "We're just the distraction. Lucy has a plan to take it out. I'm not sure how, but Erza said that she had a plan and I'm willing to trust her. Not like I can come up with a plan to take this thing down with what we got."

"Do you think it'll work?" Asked Meredy, fear in her voice.

"It better." Said Ragna, knowing full well that, if Lucy couldn't beat this thing in time, then he'll go inside the Black Beast and take out its heart and body, that was the only way to kill one permanently.

" **I'm giving her fifteen minutes top. After that, I'm going in."** Thought Ragna, willing to trust Lucy on this.

"Alright. I'll try to keep it under my magic. Once I've linked it with something else, you'll…" She couldn't say anymore when Ragna suddenly grabbed her and jumped away just as a head slammed on the spot Meredy used to be. Another head then tried to hit the two while they were in the air, but Ragna just safely dived under in time before landing safely on his feet.

"You won't do anything against this thing Meredy. Your magic won't work on this thing anymore." Said Ragna as all the heads of the Black Beast looked at him hungrily. "Get the hell out of here. This is too dangerous for you." Stunned to hear that, Meredy glared at Ragna.

"No way in hell! I've sworn to protect the innocent and punish the wicked, that means creatures like this. If I run away now, I've broken my oath. Even if I die, I'll die knowing that I was trying to atone for my mistakes." Said Meredy. Giving a grunt of respect, Ragna glared at the Black Beast as it began to excrete several blobs of mists from its body. Those blobs then began to move towards the city. Realizing what they were, Ragna looked at Meredy.

"If you want to help, then go help the others fight those things." Demanded Ragna, pointing at the blobs of mist. "If those things are what I think they are, then everyone needs to fight them all with everything they got. Just trust me." Confused at why Ragna was pointing at those mists, Meredy nevertheless agreed and ran to go to the direction that the largest numbers of mist clouds were going. With them alone, Ragna glared at the Black Beast, who glared back.

"Alright. You want to go?" Demanded Ragna as he transformed his sword into his scythe form. "Then let's go!" He then charged at the Black Beast, who roared before sending tentacles at Ragna.

* * *

 **Murakumo sisters**

 **Kagutsuchi**

* * *

"Its open now." Said Carl as he watched as the cauldron opened to reveal the boundary in its glory. The dark gateway glowed yellow as it activated, once again allowing Seithr to pour forth from the boundary and into the world. As Noel, Lambda watched while caring for their sister, they began suffering headaches. As the head aches continued, they began to have memories of the man from their dreams. Some of them happy ones while others were of him being cruel and being a jackass. But no matter which it of the two it was, just seeing the man made them anxious and want to find more about him. Eventually the headaches went away, allowing the two to look at Carl, who looked down at the Cauldron. "You know what you have to do. Get in there and find Hakumen's armor. I'll keep this cauldron open for as long as I can, but don't take too long. NOL forces will eventually come here after the ruckus you caused as well as the sudden activation of a cauldron. So get going and move quickly." Sighing, Noel nodded at Lambda, who nodded back. Grabbing their sister, the three ventured to the edges of the cauldron. Squeezing Lambda's hand as well as Nus', Noel took a deep breath before the three jumped into the cauldron. When the three entered into the mass of yellow, Carl brought out a small locket. Opening it, he looked at a picture of his sister, prior to her illness. Closing his eyes in respect, he prayed that this will all work according to his designs.

" **They have to. They just have to. I won't let my work go to waste."** Thought Carl before putting the locket back. Unbeknownst to him, his men were looking at him in secret. But these weren't stoic stares. They were stares of hungry and anticipation. As if they were waiting for something. Something far worse than Carl.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

 **Well I think people are going to hate me after this chapter. And they should. As this probably shows how bad I am as a writer. Also probably should have kept the dragons instead of the Black Beast. My bad.**

 **ArmantusCumPinnae- I'm sorry but can you clarify your question.**

 **Wlyman2009- Not much of it.**

 **Archive4465- Maybe.**

 **Nikkless- I won't deny that. This chapter may enforce that opinion.**

 **Epsilon the Blue Ace- Both of them are yes, including Kamika. The others I haven't decided.**

 **As for omakes, I might do them eventually as sort of gags or something.**

 **HHYYYYYPPPEEE- You'll see.**

 **Slackboy101- Because most harem writers put them in nearly all the time. Don't get me wrong, they're decent characters, but come on. Too many people use them and not anyone else. (And those that do put the extras in as well, bloating the harem to the point of…insanity.). Yes, some will come.**

* * *

" **Damn!"** Thought Ragna as he got up from enduring being thrown at a building from one of the Black Beast's heads when the thing hit him like a baseball when he tried to go for stab on its eye, sending him flying to a building. **"Damn thing is stuff. Lucy better hurry up or else there's no other option but to send this thing into a year-long coma."** Though considering he didn't have Jubei with him this time and the fact that this thing seemed to be stronger than the Black Beast he fought with the cat warrior, he wasn't sure if he could pull it off again. Still, better to try than not to in Ragna's book. And if not trying resulted in so many dying, then he was all for fighting to the bitter end. **"But before that, I'm going to keep you from getting to Lucy!"** With that Ragna charged at the Black Beast again, jumping on top of one of its heads, which roared before sending a tentacle at him. Sensing the incoming tentacle, Ragna jumped off the head, causing the tentacle to hit the head instead. Shaking its head in annoyance, the hit head glared at Ragna before slamming itself on the pavement, sending rock and granite everywhere. Unphased, Ragna charged again and proceeded to hack and slash at the head.

As he continued to fight, Ragna hoped that everyone else was doing alright. The remains may be newly created, but so was the one that fought his master. And he remembered what happened when Jubei went to fight that remain.

* * *

 **Kagura**

* * *

"Hold the line!" Yelled Kagura as she watched the remains tearing and ripping apart her fellow wizards. Gritting her teeth, she tried to use her gravity magic against these blobs of Seithr when one managed to send itself flying towards her. Sensing the remain, she kicked it away before slicing it in half with her unsheathed sword, the situation dire enough for her to use the full power of her sword.

To her shock, the remain simply reattached itself and charged again. Ducking under the remain, Kagura was about to slice it again when it was sent flying away by a flaming fist.

"Damn these things are tough." Said Natsu as he looked around, seeing various remains about to overwhelm their friends. "Use your magic. Everyone get out of the way!" Natsu then took a deep breath before placing his hands near his mouth, creating a tunnel. Upon seeing this, all the mages began to get away from the remains, helping each other however they can. When the remains began to pursue them, Kagura used her gravity magic to keep them in place. With no allies in the way and all the remains in one place, Natsu let out his attack. "Fire dragon roar!" Flames then spewed out of his mouth, his hands directing them towards the remains. On fire, the remains tried to get out of Kagura's gravity magic to no avail. Eventually, they just disappeared into nothing, all that was left of them were embers. Upon seeing that their defeated foe was no more, some began to celebrate. Looking at Kagura, Natsu let out a small, exhausted smile. Giving a smile of her own, she was about to congratulate Natsu when more remains showed up. Upon seeing them, Kagura growled before slashing her katana at the remains, using all her remaining power into the attack, creating a powerful slash that went towards the remains. Upon seeing the incoming slash, some remains turned into a mist, saving themselves, but the slash went them flying away. The others, in the front, were completely destroyed. Dropping down in exhaustion, Kagura looked at their remaining forces. Out of the forty mages they had, only fifteen were left, showcasing the power of the remains.

"Damnit." Swore Kagura as she got up. "If this keeps up, there won't be many wizards left."

"Don't worry." Said Natsu, looking at Kagura. "We got a plan to stop these things. We just need to hold them off for a little while longer." Even though Natsu wasn't sure what Lucy had in store for these things, he was willing to trust her judgement. And if she needed time, then he'll give her that time Kagura, however, wasn't as optimistic as Natsu.

"I don't think we'll be able to do that." Said Kagura, looking over their remaining fighters. "We need to regroup with others. We won't survive another attack." She then heard some rumbling. Looking for the source, she saw the monster responsible for all this destruction going at it with Ragna in the distance, though Kagura didn't know that Ragna was fighting the Black Beast. "Thank god that thing is too distracted with something else. I don't think we can handle it." Natsu nodded, looking at the Black Beast with anger. Much as he wanted to smash all of its heads in, he knew that he didn't have the power. The sheer power that it radiated was much more than what Acnologia permeated when the Fairy Tail guild went up against him on Tenrou island. And if they couldn't beat Acnologia, then what hope could they have against this thing? With that knowledge, he couldn't believe that Ragna is holding his own against that thing. The only question is, how much longer can he hold against it? Praying that it was enough to buy Lucy the time she needed, Natsu looked at Kagura.

"Follow me!" Yelled Natsu to the surviving wizards. "The Fairy Tail guild will keep you all safe!" With that, Natsu led everyone to where his guild was holding off the remains in another section of the city.

* * *

 **Lucy**

* * *

"One more time!" Yelled Lucy as her spirits, along with Yukinos', who had just arrived with Mirajane, used their strength to attack the Eclipse gate. Unfortunately, there wasn't even a scratch on it after the spirits finished attacking it.

"What does it take to take this thing down?" Mumbled Yukino as she saw that their spirits didn't do a thing against the gate. This was the fifth time they did this and the gate was as strong as ever. Things were becoming hopeless.

"I'm sorry to say, but we need something of immense strength in order to destroy the gate." Said Arcadios as he approached the two with Hisui in tow.

"And what qualifies as sufficient strength to take this thing down?" Asked Lucy as she looked at the gate, still holding strong despite the hopelessness of the situation. She held strong because she refused to accept the reality that will come to pass if she fails to destroy the gate. Even if she had to use up all her magic power, she'll keep at it, no matter what. The only question is, can she do it in time before that thing kills everyone in her guild?

"Well, this may sound difficult, but should we lead that thing to destroy the gate?" Asked Hisui, looking at the Black Beast as it destroyed the city of Crocus. Seeing the monster destroy her city brought immense shame to her as she was the one that brought the beast into this time. Well, tricked technically, but she still felt shame regardless. And as more and more people die from it, that shame grew. That thing needed to go and it needed to go now.

"I don't know if we could." Said Yukino as she looked at the beast as it fought Ragna. When Lucy told them that Ragna was fighting it alone, they all couldn't believe that the knew Fairy Tail member was actually going up against it alone. The fact that it looked like it was still fighting him, based on the Black Beast staying in an already ruined portion of the city, meant that Ragna was stronger than they all initially gave him credit for. "That thing seems so focused on Ragna that we might never get its attention."

"Then we'll just have to Ragna lead it here." Said Lucy. She then looked over at Hisui. "Princess, this may cause you to be mad at me, but is it alright if the castle gets a bit destroyed in the process." Hisui shook her head. If a little destruction of the palace was needed to destroy that beast, then so be it. She was sure that her father will agree. "Okay then, we need someone fast to tell Ragna to lead that thing here. Every second we waste means more people die." Nodding their heads in agreement, everyone pondered on who to send. They were thinking so much that they didn't notice Mirajane speaking up.

"I'll do it." Announced Mirajane to the assembled people. Upon hearing that, everyone looked at Mirajane. "I'm pretty quick with my demon forms and, like you said, more people die if we delay any longer. I'll go tell Ragna, you guys just get ready to get out of the way when that beast gets here." Without waiting for them to respond, Mirajane transformed into her Sitri form and flew off, hoping to find Ragna quick.

"Well with that done, we need to evacuate anyone in the palace and to get to a safe distance." Said Lucy, looking at Hisui, who nodded after recovering. With that, the four began the long process of evacuating people still in the palace.

* * *

 **Ragna**

* * *

"Come on, you bastard!" Yelled Ragna as he sliced at a tentacle, only for another to strike at him, sending him flying to a destroyed building, where he hit several pillars before being sent out through the building and to the ground, creating a sizable crater. Coughing out a bit of blood, Ragna glared at the Black Beast as it went through the building that Ragna was sent through, materializing into a cloud of Seithr before rematerializing again as it original form.

" **Damnit. I can't keep this up."** Thought Ragna as he coughed out more blood. **"Looks like I got no choice. Need to get inside it now and kill either its heart or body."** Growling, Ragna got ready to charge at the beast when he saw a glint in the sky. **"The hell?"** The glint soon materialized into Mirajane in her Sitri form, coming at the Black Beast in frightening speed. With a yell, Take-over mage slammed a fist into a head of the Black Beast. The attack didn't do much but anger the creature as it roared and attempted to eat her with its many heads. Fortunately for the takeover mage, she was fast, far faster than the Black Beast anticipated, and she quickly avoided the attacks enough for her to charge at Ragna and grab him. Seeing its prey retreating, the Black Beast roared before charging after them, changing into a cloud of Seithr again.

"Thanks for the save, but what the heck are you doing?" Asked Ragna as he held on to Mira. "You're just leading this thing to another populated part of the city!"

"I know, but we kind of need it!" Yelled Mira as she eyed the Black Beast closing in, surprising her with how fast it was. With that, she put more power to her speed and zipped towards the palace. "We have a plan, but in order for it to work, we need that thing to break that gate!" She then pointed at the eclipse gate. Upon seeing the massive gate, Ragna couldn't help but groan. Why in the hell as that thing so close to the palace. Ignoring that stupid decision, Ragna looked at the Black Beast catching up. It was literally a few feet from them. If it doesn't stop now, it'll kill everyone with its sheer mass alone. Thinking quickly, Ragna yelled at Mira to drop him. Before she could ask why, one of the Black Beast's heads materialized and tried to chomp on Mira, who dodged at the last minute.

"Do it!" Yelled Ragna as he grabbed his sword. Gritting her teeth, Mira told what she was told and let go of Ragna. Now dropping Ragna braced himself as he landed on the ground, creating a sizable crater. Rolling his shoulders, he looked to see the Black Beast materialize before him, glaring at him with all its heads. "Okay then! Let's go again!" This time, Ragna ran to the Eclipse gate, causing the Black Beast to roar as it went after him.

After a few minutes of dodging the Black Beast's attacks, Ragna saw the Eclipse gate just ahead of him, completely devoid of any life. With his goal in sight, Ragna looked behind to see the Black Beast turning into a mist and flying passed Ragna.

To his frustration, the Black Beast reformed in front of the Eclipse gate, blocking him from going any further.

"Well shit." Said Ragna as he drew his blade. He'll have to find some way to get that thing to attack the Eclipse gate, which it was now protecting.

With a weary glance, Ragna yelled out as he got into a fighting stance.

"Alright you so of a bitch! One last fight between you and me! Let's go!" With that Ragna charged at the Black Beast, who roared out a challenge before launching several tentacles at Ragna.

Meanwhile, two figures, who were at the very top of the palace, chuckled. One was Hazama. Injured, but very much alive. The other was the one that killed the future Lucy.

"Damn. They must really be desperate if they're using the Black Beast itself to destroy the gate." Said Hazama. He was sore from his fight with Ragna, a testament to how much stronger that the Grim Reaper had gotten since they last met, but he was still cracking jokes and laughing. The other nodded.

The currently mysterious figure was stroking their fuzz-filled hair with intrigue, amused at the desperate plan that their foes had made. Unless this Black Beast was more stupid than he originally thought, it shouldn't fall for such an obvious trap. Even if it did, however, their job was done. What happens now is inconsequential for them.

"If they succeed, hurrah for them." Said the figure. "If they don't, I'll give them my condolence. For us, however, we should leave. There's nothing here for us." With that, they left.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Cana**

* * *

While Ragna was fighting the Black Beast one last time, the others were struggling to fight off the remains that the Black Beast spawned. Though the mages were holding their own against most of the remains, who were not too bright, relying on basic attacks like transforming into a head of the Black Beast to attack, those that were smart were proving to be a danger as they coordinated with their lesser brethren to fight the mages, killing scores of them. And even without the more intelligent ones, the remains were overwhelming the mages with sheer numbers and durability.

Such was the case with Cana.

" ***Pants*** Come on." Said Cana as she panted, looking around to see a group of remains surrounding her, something that Cana wanted. "That's right. Focus on me. I'm the threat. Not them!" She then waved a hand on pretty boy trio of Blue Pegasus, all bloody and wounded. They all could barely move as they watched Cana, despite bleeding from a nasty bite on her left leg, a result of a remain forming a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth and taking a chunk out of said leg. The remain in question was currently chewing on the flesh it took off, savoring the taste.

The trio grunted as they tried to get up, but their bodies were not responding. They simply took too much damage in fighting these black clouds. Even so, they refused to let Cana sacrifice for them. Even if it meant worsening their wounds or even death, they refused to let her go down alone. Despite that though, Cana refused to let that happen, grabbing a few cards, she yelled out as she tossed them at the remains, who simply stood still.

As soon as the cards connected, they sealed the remains inside them. Upon seeing this, the remains further from Cana dodged them by either flying up or hugging the ground, avoiding the path of the cards. With the threat gone, the non-sealed remains charged at Cana, eager to taste her blood.

Cana, meanwhile, just grinned as she pulled out one last card. This was it. Her last trick up her sleeve. If this doesn't save the pretty boys than they'll be next for these things to eat. She waited until they were all close to her before she turned and flashed a grin at the boys. Though it was a grin of assurance, her eyes held regret and sadness. Widening their eyes, the three tried to stop her, but she then activated her final card.

With a glow of light, all the remains and Cana were sucked in the card, trapping them all inside the card. Like the ones before, Cana used her magic to trap the remains inside a card, preventing them from harming anyone else. Unless the one that casted it, or, at least, someone with good knowledge on card magic or had magic that dispelled other forms of magic released them, the captured opponents are stuck in there. This particular spell had trapped Cana alone with the other remains inside one card, Cana's last card. Unfortunately, despite not being able to interact with the outside world, the ones trapped in the card can still interact with others trapped inside the same card, meaning that remains can still attack Cana.

So, with annoyance, the remains charged at Cana, who closed her eyes and waited for the remains to tear her apart. Despite having some regrets in her life, mainly concerning her father, Cana was fine with her decision. She made the choice to save others in place of her own and she was completely fine with that. It was what any other Fairy Tail mage would have done. Chuckling sadly, she thought of her extended family that was the guild.

" **I'm sorry guys. I'll be drinking in your honor, guys."** Thought Cana just before the remains came at her, forming mouths with teeth designed to rip and tear flesh from a body.

Meanwhile, the pretty boys of Blue Pegasus were crying out in sorrow. Not only did they fail to do much against these remains, their magic more or less useless again them, they allowed a much more powerful mage to sacrifice themselves for their worthless lives.

"God damnit!" Yelled Ren as he slammed his fist onto the floor, not caring that he would going to hurt his knuckles.

"Why!" Asked Eve as he let the tears fall. "Why did such a beautiful woman die for us?" Hibiki just cried as he wondered the same thing. After getting the tears under control, Hibiki began to look at the others.

"Come on. We got to stay strong. Cana gave her life for us. Let's not let her sacrifice be in vain." Knowing that their fellow Trimen was right, Ren and Eve tried to get up along with Hibiki. Even though it worsened their wounds and caused them to bleed, the trio didn't give up. Once they were on their two feet, the Trimen began to long and torturous walk of meeting up with other wizards.

Meanwhile, Lyon grunted as he sent an ice gorilla at a remain, who was going for Toby and Chelia, the latter healing a wound the former got when a remain plunged itself on his thigh while in a spear form. To his horror, the remain just went through the gorilla and continued charging at the two mages, who were stunned in horror at seeing it.

Just moments before it connected with the two mages, Elfman came out of nowhere and tackled the remain, who was stunned enough that it didn't dissipate away from the big man's grip. When it recovered, however, it turned into a mist and escaped Elfman's grip. Rematerializing behind Elfman, the remain transformed a Black Beast head and proceeded to charge at Elfman, eager to chomp on his flesh.

Unfortunately for it, Elfman changed into an armored beast. So, when it bit down on Elfman's body, it couldn't rip and tear his flesh as it could with the others.

Grinning, Elfman roared before he began to smash the remain into the floor and various walls around them. The remain, immune to pain, just continued to try and bite through Elfman's armor, but in different parts of his body. Eventually, through trial and error, the remain found a chink in the armor, specifically around the arm pit. Upon finding it, the remain bit down on Elfman's right arm pit, finally drawing blood.

Yelling out in pain, Elfman, nonetheless, continued to beat the remain down as it sunk its teeth into his flesh. Within just a few minutes, Elfman, having enough and nearing the end of his limits, grabbed the remain and threw it far away, but doing so caused the remain to leave some of its teeth into his flesh, causing him to bleed profusely from his armpit.

Grunting, Elfman pressed a hand on his wound in an effort to stop the bleeding. Fortunately, Chelia was nearby so he could heal his wound.

"A real man doesn't need healing." Said Elfman as he turned around to go find Chelia. "But if I don't, then people will die because I'm not at a hundred percent." So, swallowing his pride, Elfman went to Chelia to get healed.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Natsu**

* * *

"Come on, you pieces of tar!" Yelled Natsu as he threw flame-empowered punches and kicks onto various remains, pushing them far away from his group. Unfortunately, more just took their place, and the remains began to encroach to the group of mages further as the mages tried to hold them back. Giving a grunt, Natsu let out a battle roar before he placed his hands near his mouth. "Fire dragon roar!"

He then let out a concentrated flame attack at a group of remains. The blast was so strong that it caused them all to be thrown back from the sheer force.

Natsu wasn't then yet, though, as he directed the flame attack to other remains that were about to attack either him or other mages that were holding them back. Eventually, Natsu managed to hold the remains back momentarily, giving the mages a brief, but needed, rest.

But not to be outdone, Gray came and formed an ice wall between them and the remains just as Natsu was done. Not stopping there, Gray made even more walls between the mages and the remains with the last wall being thicker than the rest.

With that, Gray joined Natsu in sitting on the floor exhausted.

"God damn, these things are persistent." Said Gray as he clenched his fists. Natsu nodded in agreement as Wendy came and healed them from whatever injuries they sustained during the recent fight.

"You're telling me, these things just won't die." Said Natsu as he looked at the remains trying to break through the ice walls. Either they were to confident in their abilities or they don't have that much in terms of brains for they could easily transform into a mist and fly over the walls, thus making Gray's contribution pointless. Natsu was guessing the latter. This group wasn't as intelligent as some remains he fought while with Kagura's group.

Speaking of her, he hoped that she was doing fine. He had to split from them so that he could help Gray with containing another groups of these blobs of Seithr. Last he heard, her group was preventing some remains from trying to leave the city, most likely to try and find more easier prey.

"I hope Lucy's plan is going to work." Said Wendy as she looked behind her to see some mages trying to mend the wounds of the wounded or are covering up the fallen. Nearly vomiting at seeing someone trying to put a makeshift tourniquet on a stump of an arm that was currently squirting blood, Wendy turned her sight on Gray's wounds, which were minor at worst.

"You and me both, Wendy." Said Gray as he looked at the remains breaking two of his ice walls, causing him to clench his fists.

So much for his ice walls.

* * *

 **Few minutes later**

 **Meredy**

* * *

" **Where is Jellal and Ultear!"** Thought Meredy as she carried a mage around, hoping to find them so they can get this mage to safety.

She didn't know this mage personally, but upon seeing the emblem on his body, she realized he was from Fairy Tail. Through process of elimination, since she knew most of the remaining mages in Fairy Tail, she guessed he was one of the Fairy Tail mages that stayed in the guild, keeping it alive, when the Tenrou island group was missing for seven years.

Both out of gratitude for Fairy Tail helping her see the error of her ways and because she was a morally righteous individual, she grabbed the mage from the debris he was trapped under and dragged him with her.

Unfortunately, he was losing blood and she needed to get him to a healer soon or else he'll bleed to death. So, with worry in her heart, she hurried her pace as she tried to find some friendly mages in the area.

As she paced around aimlessly, she heard the sounds of liquid pouring out from somewhere. Dreading what it was, she turned around and her heart stopped.

Coming out of some ruined buildings, were the black liquid form of Black Beast remains, who reshaped into black sludge.

Counting three, Meredy stepped back as they charged at her.

Knowing she can't beat them, having tried her best in beating just one, only for it to shrug them off and toss her away before killing some other mages, she shut her eyes, ready for what was to come.

However, it never came, as salvation came in the form of a giant white slash that split the remains in two. As they dissolved into Seithr particles, Meredy opened her eyes in shock. Looking around, she saw Kagura coming with her unsheathed sword.

Eyeing the wanted mage in suspicion, Kagura looked at the wounded mage she was carrying and saw what was going on.

Walking over, Kagura helped Meredy with carrying the mage. With the man now secured, Kagura motioned to a direction.

Relief at getting help soon, Meredy walked with Kagura to where she pointed at.

"Thank you for helping me." Said Meredy, looking at Kagura, who stayed silent until now. "If it weren't for you, this man and I would be dead right now."

"Don't thank me." Said Kagura, looking at Meredy with one eye. "Any mage would have done what I did, even for someone wanted such as you." Wincing at that, Meredy looked at the ground in guilt and hurt. Upon sensing the hurt from Meredy, Kagura immediately regretted saying that. "I'm sorry. That was tactless of me to say."

"No, its okay." Said Meredy, looking at Kagura with a sad smile. "I'm used to it." Frowning at that, Kagura wondered what changed in this wanted mage.

She heard of Crime Sorcière and of their actions. Though they're comprised of former members of Dark guilds or have committed heinous crimes, she couldn't help but respect them for their want to redeem themselves. That is until she found out that Jellal was a part of this independent guild and that respect went away quickly. Still, now was not the time for petty grudges. They had bigger things to worry about.

Focusing back on Meredy, she heard of the actions that this mage did in her time in the dark guild, Grimoire heart, some of which are quite heinous and despicable, though not to the same extent as her colleagues. The stories told of her described her as a cold and calculating figure that didn't care who died, even declaring them as pests that needed to be exterminated.

Yet here was the so-called dark mage, full of regret and sorrow for her actions, wanting redemption from crimes she committed but never getting it from the people that mattered. Such a contradiction confused Kagura and made her wonder what changed her.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the grunt of the Fairy Tail mage. Looking over, she clicked her tongue when she saw more blood was flowing from a wound on his leg.

"We need to get him to a healer soon or else he'll have to lose his leg, even his life." Said Kagura as she quickened her pace. Keeping up, Meredy looked at Kagura in shock.

"Its that bad?" Asked Meredy with worry in her tone. Kagura nodded as the two women tried to find a healer.

"It is." Said Kagura. "My group has a medic with them. If we can find them, we can save him." Kagura, however, neglected to tell Meredy that she had been separated from her group after she forced some remains to chase her after cutting them off from her wounded group by destroying a building with the debris blocking their way to them as well as cutting some in half with her sword. After losing them by using her gravity magic on them, she was stumbling to find her group when she encountered Meredy and the Fairy Tail mage. And the rest was already known.

As they ran, the two heard a massive explosion coming from the palace. Looking over, the two widened their eyes in horror at seeing the Black Beast waging war on something.

"Ragna." Said Meredy in worry, knowing, somehow, that Ragna was still fighting the Black Beast. Upon hearing that, Kagura looked at Meredy in shock.

"Are you telling me that Ragna is fighting that monster?" Asked Kagura, shocked beyond belief. She knew that Ragna was powerful, more powerful than anyone in Fairy Tail except perhaps Gildarts or Makarov, but she didn't think he was capable of fighting this monster.

"I think so." Said Meredy. "The question is…how long can he hold on?"

* * *

 **Ragna**

* * *

"Gah!" Yelled Ragna as he was sent flying to the ground before being slammed by tentacle after tentacle. After the fifth tentacle, Ragna summoned a barrier and quickly got out of the small crater that he made when he was sent to the ground. After escaping, he suddenly went to his knees, exhausted.

"God damnit." Said Ragna before throwing up some blood. Wiping his mouth, he looked at the Black Beast as it glared at him, ready for him to try and attack it again. Giving a grunt, Ragna got up to his feet.

From a 3rd party view, one could see that Ragna was at his limits. His coat, Hakama, and pants were torn in various places, showing skin that was bleeding. His face was filled with scratches and cuts that bleed slightly. Normally his Azure Grimoire would have healed him, but its wasn't at its full potential. Ragna having sealed it since coming to this world, finding that it wasn't needed. But even if he needed it, he refused to use it.

In part because it was the true Azure Grimoire, not the fake one that he used for most of his life. He didn't know just how powerful it was or the consequences of him using it. For all he knew, he could lose control of it and he could turn into a murdering psychopath. Heck, it might even turn him into a Black Beast, perhaps even more powerful than the one that he's facing now. Which is why he didn't use it since starting his fight against the Black Beast. His fear prohibiting him from fighting this thing with his Grimoire.

But now, with him at the last of his strength, he had no choice. He had to use it. Or else everyone he knew would die from this monster.

Clinking his tongue, Ragna looked at his Azure Grimoire.

"I didn't want to use it…" Said Ragna, remembering the last time he activated the Azure Grimoire. "But I got no choice now." Taking a deep breath, Ragna began his chant. "Restriction 666 released. Dimensional interference field deployed." As he said those words, dark energy began to form all around him and the shells on the back part of his gloves opened up, allowing them to glow red as Seithr poured out from them. Along with this, Ragna began to heal from his wounds, which were closing up and the various bruises around his body healed up as the Azure Grimoire's power began to heal him now that its been fully unleashed.

As this happened, the Black Beast seemed to grin as it saw Ragna unleashing his Azure Grimoire.

"Idea Engine linked! Blazblue…activate!" The dark energy then became blinding. After a few seconds, the light went away, and the Black Beast saw Ragna surrounded by a dark field of Seithr. "Alright, you son of a bitch, it's time to finish you off!" With that, the Black Beast roared and launched several heads at Ragna, who dodged them all effortlessly before charging at the Black Beast.

With the energy from his activated Grimoire, Ragna was now moving faster than he ever could without it. In fact, he was moving even faster than he did with his old Grimoire turned on because he closed the distance between him and the Black Beast in a blink of an eye.

Surprised at his speed, Ragna almost didn't react in time when the Black Beast launched a spike from its body at him. If it weren't for his instincts, Ragna would have had a foot-wide spike in his chest right now. After dodging the spike, Ragna yelled out as he sliced the spike clean off before jumping up and slashed at a head, the same one that he cut an eye out, creating a small gash on its last remaining eye. As the head roared in pain, slamming itself everywhere, including the gate, the others prepared to launch breath attacks on Ragna.

Seeing this, Ragna tried to get out of the way, only for multiple tentacles reaching out to get him. He slashed and cut them away from him, but there too many. Eventually, he was grabbed by several and was held in place by them.

As Ragna tried to break free, the heads of the Black Beast prepared to launch their breath attacks on the Grim Reaper.

Just seconds before they could do so, however, Mirajane, now back to help fight this monster, tackled the tentacles that were holding Ragna in place, forcing them lower to the ground, thus causing Ragna to be out of the path of the eight breath attacks as they fired.

The concentrated blasts of Seithr missed their target and instead hit the ground, where they created a deep hole as the Black Beast continued to launch its attack. Once it was done, however, the heads roared as it looked at Mirajane ripping its tentacles away from Ragna.

Growing that its prey was lost, the Black Beast now focused on Mirajane, who had just ripped out a 3rd tentacle, thus allowing Ragna to rip the rest off of him.

Upon seeing the Black Beast target Mirajane, Ragna pushed her out of the way as a tentacle slammed into him, sending him flying to a tree, which he broke before creating a massive ditch on the castle gardens.

"Ragna!" Yelled Mirajane as she got up. Upon seeing him not moving, Mirajane glared at the Black Beast as it prepared to fight her now. Yelling out in rage, Mirajane launched into the air and proceeded to fight the Black Beast.

Using her superior speed, Mirajane was able to launch several punches and kicks into the wounded Black Beast head, specifically where its eyes used to be. After receiving a punch that went deep, the head roared in pain as it began to thrash around, bringing along with it Mirajane, who couldn't get her arm out in time. As the head slammed Mirajane into the ground multiple times, the others heads began to coordinate a way to finish off Mirajane at the expense of the wounded head.

Three heads chomped down at the wounded head, holding it in place while one went for Mirajane who was struggling to get her hand out of the Black Beast head. She was about to pull it out when she was suddenly eaten alive by the head that went after her. Pulling out, the head ripped Mirajane free, taking a portion of the other head with it, causing the wounded head to scream in pain as it tried to thrash around again, only to be stopped by the others.

With Mirajane stuck inside the mouth of one head, the Black Beast began to fill up the mouth with lethal amounts of Seithr.

Mirajane, meanwhile, was trying to punch her way out of the mouth of the Black Beast head. Yet no matter how many times that she punched or kicked the mouth of the Black Beast, it just wouldn't open its mouth. She was about to unleash another barrage of attacks when she suddenly felt sick.

Getting weaker and weaker, Mirajane went down to her knees as she looked around for the source of what's causing her to be so sick. Eventually she found the culprit in the form of dark particles appearing from the throat of the Black Beast head that swallowed her.

" **Not good. I have to get out of here now!"** Thought Mirajane as she tried to get up only to go back to her knees again, her strength sapped from the Seithr particles that were growing in volume. Yet she still continued to struggle. Crawling to a tooth, she weakly tried to punch it out. **"No…I can't go down like this!"** After the fifth punch, however, she no longer had the strength anymore and so slumped to the ground, her demon form going away and turning her back to her normal, human form.

" **No…Lisanna…Elfman…everyone…I'm sorry."** Thought Mirajane as she began to lose consciousness.

After a few more minutes, the Black Beast decided enough was enough and so the head that contained Mirajane opened its mouth, allowing some tentacles to grab her out of the mouth. Once acquired, several tentacles grabbed each of Mirajane's limbs, including her head, before pulling. After a strong tug, all of Mirajane's limbs were pulled from her body, causing blood to spill from the dead body. As the body fell to the ground, several Black Beast heads began to eat the limbs of Mirajane while a tentacle squished the body once it hit the ground, smearing the ground with blood.

Once that nuisance was gone, the Black Beast was about to face Ragna again when it felt terrible rage coming from the direction that Ragna was tossed aside. Looking at the direction, the Black Beast saw Ragna being engulfed in even more Seithr and dark energy.

"You bastard!" Yelled Ragna as he glared at the Black Beast with hate in his eyes. He had just saw the thing killed Mirajane. Seeing the strong, but kind, Fairy Tail mage, who had two younger siblings waiting for her and looked up to, being killed so abruptly and brutally sent anger and rage coursing through Ragna's body. It reminded him of how he had to separate from his own siblings when he had to leave to save their world, but unlike that time, Mirajane was violently ripped from her siblings by a giant monster and then eaten bit by bit. That caused him to get angry, almost as much as the time Lambda sacrificed herself to save him from Terumi prior to his acquirement of the Idea Engine.

Though a part of him tried to keep his anger in check, less he make some mistake in his rage filled state, Ragna found that he couldn't keep himself calm. All he felt and wanted at the moment was to make the Black Beast pay. For all the death and destruction that it caused.

The feelings of rage were even enough for Ragna's Grimoire to react violently as it poured out even more Seithr, something that caused the Black Beast to pause in shock or at least something close to it. Then, before its eyes, the Black Beast saw the Seithr pouring out of the Grimoire being to form around the Grimoire itself as well as engulf Ragna's right arm.

"You're going down, even if I had to sacrifice myself to do it!" Yelled Ragna before his entire right arm turned into a miniature Black Beast head, shocking both the Black Beast and Ragna, but he was too enraged to even care. With a yell, he sent the miniaturized Black Beast head at the Black Beast, aiming for the wounded head. The mini head chomped on the wounded head and before the Black Beast could react, the mini head ripped out a large chunk of the wounded head's lower jaw, causing it to roar out in pain.

Surprised at this, the Black Beast roared out a challenge before going after Ragna once again, who was eager to get payback at it.

Brandishing his sword in one hand and the miniaturized Black Beast head on the other, Ragna jumped high and slammed his sword deep into a Black Beast head when they all tried to attack him at once. Upon slamming his sword into the Black Beast head, Ragna dragged it along as he traveled the head's neck, causing the Black Beast head to seep out Seithr as the wound grew bigger.

Ignoring this pain, despite it being the biggest wound that Ragna is causing, the Black Beast jutted out a pillar under Ragna just as he reached the halfway point of the neck that he was traveling on, causing him to fly out in the air and into the mouth of another.

Not wanting to suffer the same fate as Mirajane did, Ragna sent the Black Beast head he had for an arm and had it break through the mouth of the head he was trapped in, allowing him to leave. Upon leaving, however, he transformed his sword into its scythe form and sliced and diced his way out of the mass of tentacles that tried to stop him. After slicing the last tentacle away, Ragna landed on the Black Beast's body, where he began the process of slicing the Black Beast apart while ripping apart any obstacle the Black Beast tried to send his way. As he did so, Ragna felt ecstatic with his actions. Like he was king of the world. That he could do anything.

It was a feeling that felt so good, yet so wrong to Ragna. He never felt this way when he fought before, even when he was becoming a Black Beast himself during his final fight against Terumi. Back then, he only felt rage and anger. But this time, he felt joy and sadistic pleasure in tearing apart his enemies. It had to be the true Azure Grimoire, it had to be. It was making him feel these emotions. Make him want to kill everything that would take these emotions from him.

He needed to stop now. Before he could do something that he would regret. With a roar, Ragna tried to shut off the Grimoire, but found he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, the Grimoire just wouldn't shut down.

With Ragna trying to shut down his Grimoire, the Black Beast, somewhat wounded, but not enough to actually impair its fighting prowess, grabbed Ragna with multiple tentacles and pulled him away from it. As it healed from the wounds that Ragna made, the Black Beast glared at the Grim Reaper, stunned at what he become.

But with that came curiosity and ambition. As the Black Beast tightened its grip on Ragna, so that the Grim Reaper couldn't escape its grasp, which he was doing now, the monster wondered how it could acquire this power that Ragna possessed.

Eventually it decided to just absorb the Grim Reaper into its being so that his Grimoire can be fused with the Grimoire used to create this Black Beast. With that thought, the Black Beast was about to make the effort of absorbing Ragna to its body when it was bombarded with floating pink swords.

"Let him go!" Yelled Meredy as she launched another barrage of swords, this time teal colored, at the Black Beast. As it was bombarded by magic swords, the Black Beast growled and made the effort to try to absorb Ragna, only for it to be bombarded with a bunch of orbs as well. As if that wasn't enough, it was being held in place by some magic, even the tentacles that were supposed to bring Ragna to its body were halted as well.

This gave Ragna the time to rip away from the tentacles. Upon freeing himself, Ragna growled at the Black Beast and was about to launch the head he had for an arm at it when he heard yelling.

"Ragna get away now!" Yelled someone before another person came and dragged him away. Then before Ragna's eyes the Black Beast was blasted with some magic blasts that engulfed in a blue light. After it was engulfed, an explosion occurred, sending Ragna and whoever was carrying him flying away.

On instinct, Ragna grabbed the person and held them tightly as he adjusted himself so that when they land his body can handle the rough landing, which is was. As they rolled around, Ragna could see that the person that he grabbed was Kagura, wearing a purple shirt instead of her elaborate white blazer, likely because it was so torn during the last day of the Grand Magic Games. When they stopped rolling, Ragna let go and looked at Kagura.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Growled Ragna, putting on a more aggressive tone than he would like. Kagura was about to retort when she saw what Ragna's arm was.

Upon seeing her eyes widen in horror, Ragna looked at his arm and cursed. He had some explaining to do after all this is over.

"Look, I'll explain later." Said Ragna as his right arm's new head growled at Kagura, glaring at her with anger and hunger in its eyes. "Right now, you got to leave. I doubt that was enough to kill that thing."

"Much as that would offend someone of my power, I'm afraid you're right." Said Jellal as he walked up to Ragna with Ultear and Meredy in tow. Upon seeing the state of Ragna' right arm, they're eyes widened in shock, Meredy more so, but nonetheless they kept themselves composed. "If that thing was capable of shrugging off Makarov, then I doubt my magic can do much on it."

"So, what do you suggest we do?" Asked Ragna as he got up, any wounds he had healed up now that his Azure Grimoire was active. Jellal simply looked at the gate behind them.

"If I recall, the future Lucy claimed that this gate was responsible for bringing this thing here." Ragna just raised an eyebrow.

"Future Lucy, what the heck are you talking about?" Asked Ragna, consumed along with Kagura.

"It'll be explained later, for now, I have an idea." Jellal was about to explain the plan when Ragna's instincts suddenly went off.

"Get down!" Yelled Ragna before pushing Jellal to the ground. Just after he did so, Ragna was impaled by several tentacles, who tips were more like spear tips. Coughing out blood, Ragna tried to cut them off with his sword, but several other spear-like tentacles wrapped themselves around it, preventing him from moving it. His Black Beast arm tried to bite them off but was instead wrapped with several more tentacles. As everyone watched in horror was Ragna was lifted to the ground, they heard a roar.

Turning around. The four mages watched in horror as the Black Beast emerged from the smoke of the last attack that hit it.

"Unbelievable." Said Jellal as he narrowed his eyes, pushing down his disbelief that this thing survived one of his strongest attacks.

"How could it be still standing after that?" Asked Meredy in horror as she watched the Black Beast heal itself from the wounds it received from Ragna as well as whatever wounds it received from the combined assault of Crime Sorcière. As it healed it brought Ragna closer to it, where it intended to consume him.

Upon seeing this, Kagura got up.

"NO!" Yelled Kagura before rushing toward the Black Beast, not wanting this thing to take her friend. When one head saw her approaching, however, it sent swatted her aside with a large tentacle, sending her flying towards the palace, where she broke through a window and ended up somewhere in the palace itself.

"Kagura!" Yelled Meredy before running toward her, only for her to be stopped by Jellal. "But!"

"I know, Meredy, but I need you here." Said Jellal before looking at the Black Beast, who was enraptured with the Grim Reaper that it wasn't focusing on Crime Sorcière. "Get Ragna out of that thing's grip if we want to stop that thing from hurting more people. Now!" With that, he let go of Meredy, who looked at him in shock for a moment, before gritting her teeth and linked herself with the Black Beast. Sighing, Meredy closed her eyes tightly before summoning a sword and stabbing herself in the knee with it. Fortunately, all it did was make her suffer immense nerve pain and didn't actually draw blood, otherwise, the sword would have slice her knee off.

Yelling out in pain, Meredy watched, in shock to see all that her attack did was cause the Black Beast to wince. She was about to do it again when Ultear stopped her.

"Not like that Meredy! I won't let you hurt yourself to win this battle." Yelled Ultear as she looked at the Black Beast intending to absorb Ragna. Gritting her teeth, Ultear knew what she had to do. Looking at her adopted daughter in sadness, Ultear kissed the top of her head. "Meredy, live for me." As Meredy was blinking in confusion at Ultear's words, Ultear then looked at Jellal. Upon seeing the look on Ultear's face, Jellal sighed while adopting a saddened look on his face.

"Alright. I'll try to take it out the gate, but I need you two to distract that monster." Ultear just smiled at that.

"I think we can handle it. Good luck Jellal." Said Ultear. Nodding at that, Jellal said good luck before leaving, making sure to keep himself hidden from the Black beast's sights. When Jellal left, Meredy looked at Ultear.

"What the heck was that? What are you two keeping from me?" Demanded Meredy, hating that they both knew something that she didn't, especially since it seems that it involves this monster. Ultear just patted her head before looking at the Black Beast with determined eyes. The look that Ultear gave the beast was scaring Meredy. Before she could speak, Ultear turned around and looked at Meredy.

"Meredy link me with the Black Beast," She then looked back to see Ragna was getting closer and closer to the Black Beast. In just a few seconds, he'll be absorbed by that monster. "Now!" Shocked to hear that, Meredy, nonetheless, linked Ultear with the Black Beast.

Once she was linked, Ultear went to the ground and began to cast a spell. But not any normal spell. It was a spell that had massive consequences for the user.

The spell was called Last Ages and it was perhaps one of the most powerful spells ever made as it overrode one of the fundamental aspects of the universe, time. By casting this spell, one could rewind time on an entire planet. Although powerful, the spell had a drastic side effect on the one that casted it.

One must sacrifice their own "time" in order for the spell to work, essentially, they needed to be ready to live a much shorter life span if they wanted to use the spell. So, it was a spell that should not be casted lightly.

But to Ultear, it was the thing they needed to stop this monster. If anything, it'll prevent that monster from absorbing Ragna, who probably had the best chance in taking it out. The fact that he held out much longer than even Makarov was testament to that.

As a result, in order to save everyone, she will cast this spell, even if it ruined Meredy.

Going to her knees, Ultear took a deep breath and began to cast the spell, bracing herself for the surge of pain that'll soon occur.

Once she casted the spell, a bright light engulfed her entire body and surrounded her in a circle of light. Screaming in pain, Ultear nonetheless continued casting the spell, knowing that the pain of casting of this spell was nothing compared to watching the world burn as the monster before her rampaged across the country of Fiore.

Along with turning back time to prevent the Black Beast from catching Ragna, Ultear had a secondary plan in mind. By having Meredy link her senses to those of the Black beasts', what she was feeling was being felt by the Black Beast and vice versa. So, even with its enhanced pain tolerance, the Black Beast was feeling the pain that Ultear was suffering by casting Last Age. This was done in case that the Black Beast was, somehow, immune to the reversing of time.

Fortunately, it wasn't and as time reverted back, Ragna was being pulled away further and further from the Black Beast until he was just outside the grip of the Black Beast, to the moment when he pushed Jellal away. But that wasn't enough. No, that won't give him the time to react quick enough.

So, despite nearing her limit, Ultear continued casting the spell, knowing that it'll kill her if she kept this up.

Despite that fact, Ultear was willing to sacrifice herself. In her eyes, she wasn't redeemable. All her life, she deceived, murdered, and done other terrible deeds that would have given her the death penalty. Even if Natsu and the others in Fairy Tail claimed that she changed, there was a part of her that thought that she wasn't worthy of it.

No matter how many good deeds she does, she'll never wash her hands of all her sins. Never. All she could do was fight the dark forces of evil simply to save other's from killing or become like her. And if that meant sacrificing her own life, then so be it.

Screaming in pain, Ultear, nonetheless, hanged on as her skin burned, changing her tone from pale white to charcoal black and brown. As her clothes started to burn off, Ultear remembered all the good memories she had with Meredy, Jellal, and the Fairy Tail guild, particularly Gray, a student of her mother. Smiling at the though of that stupid stripper, Ultear screamed one last time before giving out, her pain tolerance having reached its limits.

Falling to the ground, Ultear was already unconscious before she hit the ground. Around her, Jellal, Ragna, and Meredy were blinking, confused on what just happened.

When her eyes looked at Ultear's burnt body, Meredy screamed out in horror as she knelt down at her adoptive mother.

"Ur!" Yelled Meredy as tears began to form in her eyes. As she began to cry, Jellal and Ragna suddenly remembered what happened before Ultear casted her secret spell.

"My god." Said Jellal as he remembered what the plan was before Ultear casted her spell. Clenching his fists, he looked at Ragna. "Listen, Ragna, I need you to distract that beast one last time. I'm going to cast a spell that may destroy that gate. If that doesn't work, you need to do it yourself." Before Ragna could ask what he meant, Jellal took off, trying to get away from the Black Beast as it sent out tentacles at Meredy and Ragna.

Remembering how it went down, Ragna grabbed Meredy, tossed her over his shoulder, and jumped away from the tentacles. As Meredy slammed her fists at Ragna's shoulders, her eyes caught the Black Beast's tentacles impaling themselves where Ultear was.

Praying that the Black Beast somehow missed Ultear, Meredy then screamed as she saw one tentacle had Ultear impaled on it. A head poking out of the smoke from Jellal's and Ultear's combined attack, it glared at Ultear's body hungrily before widening its mouth open and then chomping down on the tentacle that had Ultear.

As the head chomped on Ultear's body, finding it tasty, Meredy screamed out in horror, alerting to the other heads to Ragna's position. Sending out more tentacles, the Black Beast was determined to absorb Ragna in hopes that it'll increase its own power.

Clinking his tongue, Ragna dodged them all with ease as he ran away, hoping to find someplace safe to place Meredy, who was unresponsive, too stuck up in her horror at seeing her adopted mother being eaten by a giant monster, before he could fight the Black Beast, thus giving Jellal the distraction he needed to cast whatever his spell was in order to break down that gate. Finding a relatively safe corner for Meredy to hide in, Ragna hide her there. As he did so, he saw that Meredy had a look of horror on her face. Looking at her in sympathy, Ragna gave her a quick embrace before running away, hoping that the Black beast didn't find her.

Fortunately, it didn't seem to spot Ragna hid Meredy or didn't care as it appeared just a few minutes after Ragna hid Meredy. Looking around, Ragna found that they were in a garden, whose flowers were being crush as the Black Beast slammed its tentacles everywhere.

Taking a deep breath, Ragna gripped his sword with one hand and readied his Black Beast head arm, which growled at it glared at the Black Beast, whose heads glared back.

"Let's get this over with." Said Ragna before yelling out and charging at the Black Beast.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Few seconds later**

* * *

" **Come on."** Thought Jellal as he began the process of casting his one of his most powerful spells, True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema. Normally it didn't take much time to cast, but he needed to put extra magic and power into the spell in order to destroy this gate. He only had one chance in destroying it after all because once he casted it, the Black Beast may figure out what he was trying to do and protect it with everything its got. He may suffer magic deficiency after this, but that didn't matter to Jellal as the alternative to not doing so was even worse.

Of course, he may not have that chance if Ragna can't keep the Black Beast at bay. As dark cloud appeared in the sky, Jellal looked around, trying to see where the Black Beast was. To his relief, it was fighting with Ragna some distance away and seemed to be preoccupied with the Fairy Tail member to notice him. Why it was focused solely on Ragna intrigued Jellal, but now was not the time to be intrigued.

Focusing entirely on casting his spell, Jellal prayed that this would work. Ultear died in order to give them this chance, he'll be damned if he let her sacrifice be in vain.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

* * *

"They've broken through another of my barriers!" Yelled Gray as he put up another barrier of ice. After casting it, however, he went to the ground in exhaustion.

Seeing this, Lyon grabbed him and carried him away.

"You've did all you could, Gray." Said Lyon as he positioned Gray near Chelia, who had just finished restoring the strength of someone that had been fighting nonstop with Gray and Natsu. "Rest up. You'll need it." With that Lyon looked back to see the remains all gathered up and breaking through Gray's ice barriers with ease.

"Damnit." Said Lyon as he gathered ice in his hands. "If this keeps up, they'll be on us in just a few minutes. Well if they think they'll get an easy meal from us, they'll be sadly mistaken." Despite the conviction in Lyon's voice, he couldn't help but worry as he thought back to the fighting in the city at the start.

It had all gone to hell so quickly. When that monster left to do…whatever it was doing right now, it left multiple floating blobs that attacked them without reprieve. They fought back, but those damn things were damn near impossible to kill. He had witnessed several endure several lighting strikes from Laxus and some attacks from his cronies without so much as a flinch, that is if they didn't dodge the attacks by transforming into a mist.

Not only that, whatever wounds those blobs inflicted seemed to nullify any healing magic that Wendy and Chelia had as evidenced with how many of their own was dying from wounds that those blobs inflicted. To make matters even worse, their bites and impalements seemed to have some sort of poison that was slowly killing them and the blobs themselves seem to emit black particles that are all over the air now. Already, the most critical wounded had perished, something that was on the minds of everyone as they remembered how they died in agony, and some of their able-bodied mages had fallen unconscious when they inhaled the particles, thus forcing them to be careful in what they're breathing right now.

With all this, many wizards and mages perished before they all regrouped in one final group where they were barely holding of the remains of the Black Beast.

To give everyone a reprieve, Gray had casted multiple ice barriers around them, giving them a reprieve from the attacks of their enemy. Unfortunately, their enemy was breaking through his barriers right now. Lyon estimated that it would be five minutes before they broke Gray's last barrier and fight them one final time.

To be honest, at this moment, Lyon prayed for a miracle to happen because he didn't see anyway they can get out of this.

As he prepared for a final confrontation, he wondered where Ragna was along with Kagura. Despite them not being in his guild, he hoped that they weren't among their dead.

It was a vain hope, but honestly, vain hope was all they had left.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Ragna**

* * *

"Gah!" Yelled Ragna as he was sent flying towards a fountain, which he broke upon impact. As water poured in his head, Ragna glared at the Black beast as it slithered to his location, amused beyond belief at Ragna's continued insistence in fighting it. Cracking his stiff neck, Ragna got off the destroyed fountain and walked up to the Black Beast.

"If you want to absorb me." Said Ragna as his wounds healed. "You're going to have to beat me. And I'm still standing! So, come at me!" With a yell, Ragna sent out his mini Black Beast head, who snarled as it aimed at a head.

The Black Beast, however, was unamused and dodged the miniature head's attack and held it with several tentacles. As the mini head tried to escape, a Black Beast head went after it and chomped down on it.

Then, before Ragna could do anything, it tore the mini Black Beast head clean off from Ragna's arm, causing Ragna to yell out in pain as his head was still connected to his nervous system.

"What's is it with me and losing limbs." Said Ragna, clutching his right arm as it spilled out Seithr 'blood', as he felt the pain of having his Black Beast head, something that he had to look into if he survived this, being torn off from its socket. The pain quickly going away thanks to his activated Grimoire, Ragna looked as the Black Beast grew brighter, its veins glowing brighter.

Before Ragna's eyes, the Black Beast grew larger, spikes growing all over its heads and tentacles as well, until it eclipsed the castle with its size.

"Well…shit." Said Ragna as the Black Beast looked down on him and roared at him with all its heads. Even bracing himself, Ragna was blown by the force of the roar, which sent him flying to the palace, where he broke through multiple rooms before stopping at a meat storage locker, which he crash into, the metal door giving way before his body.

Pushing a large chunk of meat from his head, Ragna got out of the meat locker and rushed outside to the Black Beast, which was waiting for him.

As he was rushing outside, he saw Kagura getting up. Upon seeing this, he stopped and helped her up.

"You okay?" Asked Ragna as he helped Kagura to her feet. Upon letting go, however, Ragna watched as Kagura went down to her knees, cursing herself. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong." Said Kagura, stubbornly refusing Ragna's help, despite knowing that she needed it. Reminded of his behavior before he went to Kagutsuchi in his world, Ragna sighed at this before examining Kagura's body until eventually he spotted a makeshift bandage around her left leg. Finding it completely red and spilling a bit of blood, Ragna knelt down at the bandage and looked at Kagura, who looked back.

"This thing isn't place properly to work. If we don't tighten it more and reapply it to a more afflicted area, you'll pass out from blood loss, even die." Said Ragna before hovering his last hand at Kagura's bandage. He may not be a medical professional like Litchi was, but he knew enough to know where to place a bandage in the right place to stop blood flow or, at the least, stem the flow of blood loss enough to get actual help. Looking at her, Ragna waited for her permission as the young woman glanced between Ragna's two different hands.

As she glanced at them, Ragna glanced at his Grimoire, wondering what the hell happened. He was never able to turn his Grimoire hand into a Black Beast head. Not to mention, his inability to control his emotions when Mirajane died at the hands of the Black Beast. It had to be a result of the True Blue. He never actually used it before, so he didn't know its capabilities. For all he knew, it was even more dangerous than his old Grimoire. Perhaps even more than his old one.

As he thought of what to do, Kagura sighed and sat on a destroyed chair.

"Do it." Said Kagura, snapping Ragna from his thoughts. Nodding, Ragna removed her makeshift bandage. Upon removing it, he widened his eyes slightly at seeing the massive wound that was seeping out blood from Kagura's leg.

"What happened?" Asked Ragna as he quickly reapplied that bandage at a better position than where it originally was before tightening it hard. Wincing at his roughness, Kagura nonetheless was grateful of Ragna's help.

"Thank you." Said Kagura before getting up. Her leg still hurt but it was more bearable now. "As for your questions, I crashed into a suit of armor in a dining room and my leg was caught in its weapon. It wasn't a real steal weapon, thank god, but it still went deep into my leg on account of that…monster's strength."

"Yeah, I could picture that." Said Ragna before getting up. "Look, you're in no condition to fight that thing anymore. Stay here and recuperate." Upon hearing that, Kagura glared.

"I will not stand idle as that monster kills my comrades and rampages across the country. If I'm to die against that thing, then so be it." Said Kagura, glaring at Ragna at his suggestion of staying behind. Ragna sighed at that. She was just so stubborn.

"Look, I get it sucks to be in the sidelines, but your…" Before Ragna could say anymore, a Black Beast tentacle wrapped itself around Ragna's right leg. This tentacle was covered in spikes, which embedded themselves into Ragna's flesh. Then, before he could do anything, the tentacle dragged him away from Kagura, who had been shocked at the tentacles sudden appearance.

"Ragna!" Yelled Kagura after recovering. She then limbed outside to help her friend, who was now being dragged back to the Black Beast.

"God damnit!" Yelled Ragna as he was dragged by a spike filled tentacle. As he was being dragged, he tried to slice the tentacle with his sword, but when he tried to swing, the tentacle slammed him into the wall multiple times until his grip with his sword waned enough for the final slam to cause him to let go of his sword. As he watched his sword leave him, Ragna was suddenly outside and then turned around to face the Black Beast, who looked at him with all its heads, all of which head hungry-looking eyes.

Trying hard to squash down the tiny hint of fear that he had at seeing this blood thing, Ragna glared at the thing.

"If you think that I'm going to beg, then you're sadly mistaken." Said Ragna as he kept a brave face at the thing. Almost impressed at his words, the Black Beast let out a howl of amusement before all eight heads opened their mouths to devour Ragna as well as some more tentacles wrapped themselves around the Grim Reaper, preventing him from escaping. Then, before they could launch their final attack, the Black Beast felt a massive surge of energy coming from somewhere.

Turning to the source, the Black Beast saw a giant mass of dark clouds appearing in the skies. And then, from out of those skies, was a massive meteor that was flying straight to the Eclipse Gate in frightening speeds.

Upon seeing this, the Black Beast let go of Ragna, who fell straight to the ground, before transforming into a mist.

Knowing that the Black Beast will be able to stop the meteor in time, Ragna let out a yell before pouring all his strength into his Grimoire. With the extra power, the Grimoire transformed into a massive red, glowing claw the size of a car, far larger than the one that he was usually accustomed to.

Time seemingly slowing down for him, Ragna launched the claw at the Black Beast in a swiping motion. It was a clumsy affair, him not being used to attacking with such a large claw, but he still managed to rip a chunk of the Black Beast's torso, enough for it to roar in pain.

And with that momentarily flash of pain, the Black beast missed the opportunity to stop the meteor from crashing onto the Eclipse gate. Watching, Ragna saw the meteor crashing into the gate before exploding, creating a massive cloud of smoke and dust as a result.

Once the cloud went away, Ragna saw the Eclipse Gate was destroyed. Well it was still standing, it just had a massive part missing from the top right corner that nearly went over to the top left corner and the half way point of the gate.

With the gate destroyed, the Black Beast roared out in anger as it was covered in a golden aura. As this golden aura caused it to disappear into tiny golden particles, the Black Beast turned its gaze at Ragna, who was smack dab in the middle of a crater he made.

"Oh crap." Said Ragna as he saw the Black Beast glaring at him. On instinct he raised his Grimoire and made a barrier. Just in time too as the Black Beast slammed multiple tentacles and heads at it, trying to kill Ragna.

Despite the extra power given to him by his activated Azure Grimoire, Ragna couldn't hold the barrier for long on account of the power of the Black Beast, his fight with it, and his wounds. So, after ten seconds of this barrage, the barrier broke, leaving Ragna vulnerable to attack.

Raising its heads, the Black Beast prepared to finish Ragna off, when it was suddenly held still by something. Roaring out in anger again, the Black beast tried to move as it faded away, turning into golden particles.

Upon seeing the Black beast turn into golden particles, Ragna got out of the crater and looked to see Kagura falling forward out of the castle and to the castle grounds. Concerned for her, he rushed to her and held her in order to examine her thoroughly. Finding nothing wrong except for her leg, Ragna knew he had to get her to a qualified healer or she might die.

Just as he was about to carry her bridal style, he remembered Meredy. Giving a grunt, he held Kagura in a bridal style before going over to the spot where he left Meredy, knowing he had to get her as well.

As he walked, he prayed that Jellal was fine. That attack shouldn't have been kind to the magic user.

" **Better be fine, man."** Thought Ragna before thinking of Ultear and her untimely demise. " **Cause Meredy needs you now. More than ever."**

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Noel**

* * *

" ***Groans*** Where is it?" Said Noel as she searched all over the dark abyss that was the Boundary. It certainly lived up to its legends. It was a dark abyss filled with Seithr.

And just like one theory on it, there was absolutely nothing in it. At least, things that Noel can see or hear.

All that was in this place was Seithr, glowing all over her. The sheer amount of Seithr here should have killed her and her sisters, perhaps even mutating them into horrible abominations. But it seemed that Carl was right. She and her sisters were these Murakumo units, capable of entering the boundary without negative effects.

This ability, though useful, made Noel question her humanity. If she was truly created in a lab, like Carl said, does that mean she wasn't human? That she was lesser to her friends and colleagues? Would they all abandon her and her sisters in disgust? Those thoughts kept piling up until a voice yelled out. The same voice of the man that has been appearing in her dreams.

"So, what if you're not human?!" Yelled the man in her head. "I'm just like you! God only knows whose soul this actually is! But that doesn't matter! I'm a person! A human being! And so are you!" Upon hearing that, Noel remembered back to when she fought that man and her crying over him losing his arm.

Shaking her head of the memory, more because she didn't need that memory that right now. Still, it was a touching moment, if a bit confusing because she didn't know what the man was talking about, which only made her want to know more about him more.

The fact he comforted her about that she still was human despite not being naturally born was nice. Just like Makoto would do for…practically anyone that doesn't piss her off. Upon remembering her friend and how she was there for her when Noel was at her lowest during her time in the military academy, Noel shook her head of any thought of her friends abandoning her when they learn she wasn't a naturally born human.

If they would take care of her when she was struggling to decide to either continue her enrollment in the military academy or to give it up and be a nun as well as visiting her, even when they graduated from the academy, becoming high ranking officers in either the traditional military or the intelligences branch, then they shouldn't abandon her for her true nature. The fact that she thought they would disgust her. She would need to pray for forgiveness after all this is over. If Carl was willing to let them go.

Sighing, Noel stopped searching this area and went to find Lambda and Nu, who she could somehow sense were around her. After a few minutes, she found Lambda taking care of Nu, checking her vitals, pulse, etc.

"Did you find anything?" Asked Noel as she knelt down at Lambda, who shook her head at the question.

"Nu is still unresponsive to our actions." Said Lambda, sadness in her tone. "Primary objective is also not found. Chances of finding the armor of Hakumen…very minimal." Noel sighed at that, knowing Lambda was right.

They've been here for hours, and everything in the boundary seemed to be the exact same thing. There were no landmasses or shapes that could help them identify where they are. For all they knew, they've been searching the same area for the past several hours.

Noel was starting to fear that they'll be stuck here forever, either starving to death or by Carl's men when they come back empty handed.

Sighing again, she was about to search again when she felt…something in the boundary. Looking at Lambda, she saw Lambda was looking at a direction, the same one where she felt something.

"You sensed it too?" Asked Noel as she looked at Lambda. Upon seeing her nod, Noel bit her lip. "Be on guard. We don't know what is out here." With that Lambda nodded before readying herself for a fight. With her ready, Noel took a deep breath before going over to the area where she felt the anomaly, Lambda right behind her with Nu.

After a few minutes of floating in the boundary, the trio of Murakumo units found what they sensed.

On the ground of the boundary, just a few feet from them, was the armor of Hakumen himself.

Rubbing her eyes to make sure that her eyes weren't tricking her, Noel looked at Lambda before beckoning her to stay back and protect Nu. Once her sisters were at a safe distance, Noel floated over to the armor of Hakumen.

As she got closer, she could see that there were scratches and dents all over the armor, likely back when Hakumen had fought against the Black Beast so long ago. Knelling before the armor, Noel let out a pray for Hakumen, asking his spirit for forgiveness for what she was about to do, before grabbing the suit and dragging it with her.

Finding it heavy, Noel was still able to drag it with her as she went to her sisters. As she dragged the suit along, Noel couldn't help but think that Carl wasn't going to keep his promise.

" **If he doesn't, then he'll regret it."** Thought Noel with anger at the thought of Carl, after all this, would betray them.

Unfortunately, Noel's anger wasn't directed at the right person and she wouldn't know it until they acquired what they needed.


End file.
